Breakdown of Χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση, κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.
Questions & Answers about Χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση, κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.
Χωρίς means “without”. It is a preposition and in Modern Greek it takes the accusative case.
In the sentence:
- χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση = without empathy
Here ενσυναίσθηση is in the accusative singular (feminine), governed by χωρίς.
You can compare with:
- χωρίς νερό – without water
- χωρίς φίλους – without friends
In all these examples, the noun after χωρίς is in the accusative.
Ενσυναίσθηση corresponds most closely to “empathy” in English, not just sympathy.
- ενσυναίσθηση = the ability to feel or understand what another person is experiencing “from the inside,” to put yourself in their place.
- συμπάθεια (or συμπόνια) is closer to “sympathy”, feeling sorry for someone or feeling compassion for them.
So the sentence means: Without empathy, every conflict becomes more difficult. It’s about the deep understanding and sharing of another person’s feelings, not just feeling sorry for them.
In this sentence, ενσυναίσθηση is:
- Gender: feminine
- Number: singular
- Case: accusative (because it follows χωρίς)
The full form would be:
- nominative: η ενσυναίσθηση (the empathy)
- accusative: την ενσυναίσθηση (the empathy – as object)
However, in the sentence we have χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση without an article.
This is because Greek often omits the article with abstract, uncountable, or general concepts when speaking in general, especially after some prepositions:
- χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση – without empathy (in general)
- με υπομονή – with patience
- χωρίς ελπίδα – without hope
If you say χωρίς την ενσυναίσθηση, it sounds more specific: without that particular empathy (for example: without the empathy you showed before). In this sentence, we mean empathy as a general human capacity, so no article is natural.
Κάθε means “every” or “each”.
In the phrase:
- κάθε σύγκρουση = every conflict
Κάθε is invariable in modern Greek:
- It does not change for gender, number, or case.
You use κάθε with singular nouns:
- κάθε άνθρωπος – every person
- κάθε μέρα – every day
- κάθε πρόβλημα – every problem
Even though it stays the same, the noun after it does change form according to case and gender.
Σύγκρουση in this sentence means “conflict”, but it can also mean “collision” in other contexts (e.g. car crash).
Grammatically here, σύγκρουση is:
- Gender: feminine
- Number: singular
- Case: nominative
Why nominative? Because it is the subject of the verb γίνεται:
- (Η) σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.
The conflict becomes more difficult.
The full nominative form is η σύγκρουση, but the article is dropped here because κάθε is used:
- κάθε σύγκρουση – every conflict
Γίνεται comes from the verb γίνομαι, which usually means:
- to become, to get, to turn (into)
- sometimes to happen / take place (in other contexts)
In this sentence:
- κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη
= every conflict becomes more difficult
This suggests a change: because there is no empathy, the conflict moves from an easier state to a more difficult state.
If we said:
- κάθε σύγκρουση είναι δύσκολη
= every conflict is difficult
that’s just a static description, a general statement.
So:
- γίνεται πιο δύσκολη = becomes more difficult (focus on change, development)
- είναι δύσκολη = is difficult (focus on state, not on change)
Using γίνεται emphasizes that lack of empathy makes conflicts grow harder.
Γίνεται is:
- 3rd person singular
- present tense
- middle/passive voice
- from the verb γίνομαι (to become)
Present tense of γίνομαι:
- εγώ γίνομαι – I become
- εσύ γίνεσαι – you become
- αυτός/αυτή/αυτό γίνεται – he/she/it becomes
- εμείς γινόμαστε – we become
- εσείς γίνεστε – you (pl.) become
- αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά γίνονται – they become
So κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται = every conflict becomes.
Δύσκολη is the feminine singular nominative form of the adjective δύσκολος (difficult).
Greek adjectives must agree with the noun in:
- gender
- number
- case
The noun here is σύγκρουση:
- σύγκρουση – feminine
- singular
- nominative (subject of the sentence)
Therefore the adjective must also be:
- δύσκολη – fem. sg. nominative
If the noun were masculine or neuter, we would have:
- ο καβγάς γίνεται δύσκολος – the fight becomes difficult (masc.)
- το πρόβλημα γίνεται δύσκολο – the problem becomes difficult (neuter)
Because σύγκρουση is feminine, we say δύσκολη.
Πιο is an adverb that means “more” and is used to form a comparative degree of adjectives:
- πιο δύσκολη – more difficult
- πιο εύκολος – easier / more easy
- πιο σημαντικό – more important
So:
- γίνεται πιο δύσκολη = becomes more difficult
Greek often uses πιο + adjective for the comparative, but many adjectives also have a synthetic comparative form:
- δύσκολος → δυσκολότερος – more difficult
- πλούσιος → πλουσιότερος – richer
You could say:
- γίνεται δυσκολότερη instead of γίνεται πιο δύσκολη
Both are correct. Πιο + adjective is more common in everyday speech; δυσκολότερη can sound a bit more formal or literary.
The phrase Χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση is an introductory prepositional phrase that sets a condition or context:
- Χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση, κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.
Without empathy, every conflict becomes more difficult.
In Greek, as in English, it is common (and stylistically good) to separate an initial adverbial phrase with a comma. It marks a pause and makes the sentence clearer.
If you write:
- Χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.
it’s still understandable, but visually and rhythmically less clear. The comma is recommended and standard in written Greek here.
Yes, you can. This is a very natural alternative:
- Κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση.
Meaning is the same:
Every conflict becomes more difficult without empathy.
The difference is subtle emphasis:
Χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση, κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.
Fronting χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση emphasizes the condition (the lack of empathy) right at the start.Κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση.
Starts with κάθε σύγκρουση, giving slight emphasis to “every conflict”.
Both are correct and idiomatic.
Ενσυναίσθηση is relatively formal/psychological vocabulary, but it has become much more common in everyday speech in recent years, especially in discussions about psychology, relationships, parenting, education, etc.
Possible rephrasings:
Χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση, κάθε καβγάς γίνεται πιο δύσκολος.
(καβγάς = quarrel, fight; more colloquial)Όταν δεν υπάρχει ενσυναίσθηση, κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.
When there is no empathy, every conflict becomes more difficult.Αν δεν έχουμε ενσυναίσθηση, κάθε σύγκρουση γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.
If we don’t have empathy, every conflict becomes more difficult.
But in all of them, ενσυναίσθηση is still the standard word for empathy.
Pronunciation (stressed syllables in caps):
- χωρίς → kho-RIS
- ενσυναίσθηση → en-si-NAI-sthi-si
More precisely:
- χωρίς: /xoˈris/
- ενσυναίσθηση: /ensiˈnaistisɪ/ (the αι here sounds like e in “pet”)
Stress marks in writing:
- χωρίς ενσυναίσθηση – the accent marks show where the stress falls: -ρίς, -να-.