mutual consolation after shared hardship; licking each other's wounds
Idiomatic expression describing people who have suffered similar difficulties comforting and supporting each other. Often carries a slightly negative nuance of wallowing in shared misery or reinforcing each other's victim mentality.
Even if we console each other over our broken hearts, we won't be able to move forward.
Those two are always complaining about work and licking each other's wounds.
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
Variant with あい in kana.
All-kana variant of the second part.
Literally 'licking each other's wounds', from 傷 (wound) + の + 舐め合い (mutual licking). The figurative meaning is a direct extension of the literal image.