sorry for your loss

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   Said to someone to show sympathy after a family member or friend has died.

   Grammar: Often shortened from 'I am sorry for your loss' and used on its own.

   Patterns

   • I'm sorry for your loss
   • so sorry for your loss

   At the funeral he quietly said, "I'm sorry for your loss."

   We are so sorry for your loss; your mother was a lovely woman.

   She wrote on the card, "Sorry for your loss, thinking of you all."

2. 2phrasefixed phraseinformal

   Used more lightly to show sympathy when someone has lost something important, such as a pet or a match.

   Grammar: Sometimes used with gentle humor about small losses.

   Patterns

   • sorry for your loss

   Sorry for your loss, I know that cat meant a lot to you.

   Sorry for your loss, but your team played well.

Common combinations

say sorry for your loss

He did not know how to say sorry for your loss.

so sorry for your loss

We are so sorry for your loss.

deeply sorry for your loss

The mayor said he was deeply sorry for your loss.

sorry for your loss card

She sent a sorry for your loss card to her neighbor.

Synonyms and how they differ

my condolences

My condolences is more formal and used in writing, while sorry for your loss feels spoken and warm.

I'm sorry to hear that

I'm sorry to hear that reacts to any bad news, not only a death.

deepest sympathy

Deepest sympathy is a formal card message, whereas sorry for your loss is something you can say aloud.

Opposites

Word family

loss noun

the fact of no longer having someone or something

sorry adjective

feeling sadness for someone

lose verb

to no longer have something

bereaved adjective

having lost a close person through death

Commonly confused: sorry for your loss or sorry for your lost?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sorry for your loss”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words