0 to understand a situation or someone's feelings because you have experienced a similar situation or similar feelings:
1 to be directly connected to something, or to refer directly to it:
Why doesn't she want to go on holiday? I can't relate to that.
I can relate to your problems. I had difficulty finding somewhere to live when I first moved here.
Things have changed so much since she started working here, that she has difficulty relating to the experiences of younger colleagues.
Audiences are encouraged to empathize with the characters and try to relate to the situations in which they are portrayed.
I can't relate to your experiences at school, they sound so different to my own.