Pathos is the quality in a person, a situation, a film, or a play that makes you feel pity and sadness. It is not the sadness itself sitting in your chest; it is the power of the thing in front of you to put that feeling there.

Pathos pathos是指 is the quality一種特質 in a person, a situation, a film, or a play存在於一個人、一個情境、一部電影或一齣戲裡的, that makes you feel pity and sadness會讓你感到憐憫和悲傷. It它 is not不是 the sadness itself sitting in your chest你心裡那份悲傷本身; it它 is而是 the power of the thing in front of you眼前這個東西的力量 to put that feeling there能把那種感覺放進你心裡.

Teachers of writing and speaking still use the old Greek trio: logos (reasons), ethos (trust in the speaker), and pathos (the pull on your feelings). You will meet it in essays about books and films, not at the dinner table. It sounds formal, a little literary.

Teachers of writing and speaking教寫作和口語的老師 still use仍然會用 the old Greek trio古希臘那三個一組的詞: logos (reasons)logos（理由）, ethos (trust in the speaker)ethos（對講者的信任）, and pathos (the pull on your feelings)還有pathos（對你情感的牽動）. You你 will meet it會遇到這個字 in essays about books and films在講書和電影的文章裡, not at the dinner table而不是在飯桌上. It它 sounds formal, a little literary聽起來很正式、有點文學氣.

Though actually, the cousin word pathetic has drifted. It once sat close to pathos — full of feeling, moving — but in everyday English now it is often a put-down: weak, useless, a bit contemptible. Pathos itself has not made that mean turn.

Though actually不過事實上, the cousin word pathetic近親詞pathetic has drifted已經走偏了. It它 once sat close to pathos曾經跟pathos很接近 — full of feeling, moving充滿情感、動人 — but不過 in everyday English now在現在的日常英文裡 it它常常 is often a put-down是個貶意詞: weak, useless, a bit contemptible意思是軟弱、沒用、有點讓人瞧不起. Pathos itself pathos本身 has not made that mean turn並沒有變成那種貶意.

And despite the shared Greek root with pathology, pathos is not a medical word.

And而且 despite the shared Greek root with pathology雖然它跟pathology共享同一個希臘字根, pathos pathos並 is not a medical word不是個醫學用字.