‘移情’ (yí qíng) literally means ‘to shift feeling’ — ‘移’ (yí) means ‘to move or transfer’, and ‘情’ (qíng) means ‘feeling, emotion, or affection’. In everyday Chinese, it most commonly refers to empathy: the ability to understand and share another person’s emotional experience. This usage emphasizes emotional resonance and compassionate connection, often in interpersonal, educational, or caregiving contexts.

In psychology, ‘移情’ is also the standard term for ‘transference’ — a technical concept where a patient unconsciously redirects feelings from past relationships onto their therapist. Though both meanings involve emotional projection, the general sense (empathy) is far more frequent in daily speech and writing, while the clinical sense appears mainly in academic or therapeutic settings. The word carries a neutral-to-positive connotation overall, especially when describing compassionate understanding.