諺語 · a single proverb
同病相憐
Simplified: 同病相怜
What does 同病相憐 (tóng bìng xiāng lián) mean?
同病相憐 (tóng bìng xiāng lián) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "same illness, mutual sympathy." In use it means: People who share the same suffering understand each other in a way that healthy people cannot. Shared pain is a bond that explanations cannot replicate. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Pig.
Literally: "same illness, mutual sympathy."
The reading
The person who has also lost a parent does not say the right words. They say the wrong words and you still feel understood. The connection is not in the language. It is in the knowing. They know the specific weight of the specific thing because they are carrying it too. Sympathy imagines. Shared experience knows.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Wu Yue Chunqiu 吳越春秋 (Eastern Han); classical idiom
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 同病相憐 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 同病相憐 (tóng bìng xiāng lián) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Wu Yue Chunqiu 吳越春秋 (Eastern Han); classical idiom. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 同病相憐?
In Mandarin it is tóng bìng xiāng lián. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 同病相憐 aloud in Mandarin.