Sympathy Paragraphs to Send, Text, or Write in a Card

A card message is a few lines. A sympathy paragraph is something more. It is the thing you send when a few lines feel like they would not do the loss justice. When you want to actually say it — not just acknowledge that something happened, but sit with the person in it for a moment and let them know you genuinely see what they are going through.

Sympathy paragraphs work in a text, in an email, on a social post, in a longer note, or written by hand in a card with some room to breathe. They are longer than a message but shorter than a letter. They are personal enough to feel real and complete enough to stand on their own.

These are sorted by loss type and tone so you can find the right one quickly. Copy it, change a detail to make it yours, and send it. The fact that you reached out and actually said something is what matters most.

For shorter options, the sympathy card messages page has everything. And for full condolence messages, the condolence messages collection is right there alongside this one.

Short Sympathy Paragraphs

Three to four sentences. Warm, direct, and complete enough to stand alone.

• I am so sorry for your loss. There are no words that fix this kind of grief, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. I just want you to know I am thinking of you and I am here for whatever you need right now.
• Losing someone you love changes the whole shape of your days. I am so sorry you are navigating that right now. Please know you do not have to go through it alone.
• I heard what happened and I just wanted to reach out. I am so deeply sorry for your loss. You are in my thoughts every single day.
• There is nothing I can say that makes this easier and I know that. What I can say is that I see you, I am thinking of you, and I am here for whatever you need. I am so sorry.
• I am so sorry for the loss you are carrying right now. It is real and it is heavy and you do not have to carry it alone. Please reach out whenever you are ready. I am not going anywhere.
• Grief like this takes time and it takes space. I just wanted you to know that I am not rushing you through any of it. I am here, steady, for however long it takes. I am so sorry for your loss.
• I keep thinking about you and wanting to say the right thing and landing on the same truth: there is no right thing. There is just this — I love you and I am so sorry and I am here.
• Sending you so much love right now. I know that is not enough, but it is real and it is constant. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• I have been thinking about you since I heard the news. I am so sorry. Please know that you are surrounded by people who care about you and want to show up for you right now.
• I did not know what to say so I almost said nothing. But I did not want you to feel like I was not thinking about you. I am. Every day. I am so sorry for your loss.
• Your grief is valid. Your loss is real. And you do not have to have it together for anyone right now. I am so sorry. I am here for the messy version of this too.
• I am so sorry for what you are going through. Please let the people who love you take care of some of the small things right now. That is what we are here for. I am thinking of you constantly.
• There are no words that cover it. But I wanted you to know I am not going to pretend this is small. I see the weight of it. I am so sorry. I am right here.
• Losing someone leaves a silence that is its own kind of presence. I am so sorry you are living inside that right now. Please know I am here whenever you want company in it.
• I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you feel surrounded by love today and in all the hard days still coming. You are not alone in this. I promise.
• Grief is love with nowhere to go right now. I am so sorry for yours. I am here to help carry some of it if you will let me.
• I want you to know that your loss is felt beyond your own household. People who love you are thinking about you, hurting with you, and rooting for you. I am so sorry.
• You do not have to be brave or composed right now. You are allowed to fall apart a little. I am here for that version of this too. I am so sorry for your loss.
• I am holding you in my heart. Not just today, but in the weeks ahead when things get quieter and harder. I am so sorry for your loss. I am not going anywhere.
• Please take all the time you need. There is no rush to be okay. The people who love you will still be here whenever you come up for air. I am so sorry.
• I keep reaching for the right words and not finding them. What I keep landing on is this: I love you. I am so sorry. I am here. That is all I have but I mean every bit of it.
• Some losses are too big for card-sized words. I just wanted to reach out and say I see this, I am thinking of you, and I will not disappear on you. I am so sorry.
• You are going to feel this in different ways on different days. Some days it will be manageable. Some days it will not. I am here for both kinds. I am so sorry for your loss.
• I am so sorry. Please eat. Please rest when you can. Please let the people who care about you help with the small things. That is what we are all here for.
• Your person was real and the love was real and the grief is real. I am so sorry for your loss. None of it needs to be minimized and I am not going to try.

RELATED: Need something shorter for a card? These sympathy card messages cover every kind of loss in a few lines.

Sympathy Paragraphs for Loss of Mother

For when a friend or loved one has lost their mom and you want to say something that actually reaches them.

• Losing your mom is losing the person who knew you the longest. Before you had words, before you had memories, she was already there. That kind of loss does not have a clean shape and I am not going to pretend it does. I am so sorry. I am here for all of it, for as long as you need.
• Your mom was in everything you are. The warmth you carry, the way you love people, the things you stand for. I know that is not comfort right now. But it is true. And I am so sorry she is gone. I am here.
• I have been thinking about you every day since I heard. I know there are no right words for this kind of loss. I just did not want to say nothing. You are in my heart and I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• A mother is not just a person. She is a whole world of knowing and being known. Losing her means losing the one who held the earliest version of you. I am so sorry for that specific and profound grief. I am here.
• She raised you, which means she is still here in everything you do. I know that sounds like something people say. But it is true. I can see her in you. I am so sorry she is gone and I am so grateful she existed.
• The things you will still want to tell her. The phone you might reach for before you remember. I am so sorry for all of those moments that are still coming. I will be thinking about you in every single one of them.
• Your grief is allowed to be as big as it is. She was your mom. There is no version of this loss that should be rushed or minimized. I am here for the full weight of it, for as long as you need me to be.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your mother. She mattered deeply. So do you. And I am not going anywhere. Please reach out whenever you are ready, for anything at all. I mean that completely.
• I heard about your mom and I have been holding you in my heart ever since. There is nothing I can say that covers it. I just want you to know I see what you are going through and I am not going to look away from it. I am so sorry.
• The hardest part about losing a mother is that she was the person you would have told. I am so sorry that the person you most want to call is the person you lost. I am here. I will do my best to listen the way she did.
• Your mom loved you in a way that does not disappear with her death. It is in everything you are and everything you will become. I am so sorry she is gone. I am grateful she was yours and that you were hers.
• Some grief cannot be fixed or hurried. It just has to be lived through. I am going to be here for that living through part. For the hard Tuesdays and the unexpected moments and every part of it that comes in between. I am so sorry.
• I keep thinking about you and I want you to know that I am not going to fade away after the first week. I will still be here in the quiet months when everyone else moves on. I promise. I am so sorry for your loss.
• She raised a remarkable person. I see that every day when I look at you. I am so sorry she is gone. Her legacy is walking around in the world in you and that is not a small thing.
• Losing a mother is one of the great thresholds of life. Everything before and everything after. I am so sorry you are standing at that threshold right now. I am right here with you. I am not going anywhere.
• You are allowed to fall apart. You are allowed to be a mess about this. You are allowed to take as long as you need. I will be here for every version of this grief. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• I love you. I am so sorry. I am here. I do not know how many times I can say those three things but I plan to keep saying them until you feel them. Please let me take care of something for you right now.
• Her love for you was one of the most consistent things in your life. Losing that consistency is disorienting in ways that take a long time to name. I am so sorry. I am here for the naming and the not-naming equally.
• There is no right way to grieve your mother. Whatever this looks like for you is the right way. I am here without judgment for all of it. I am so sorry for your loss.
• Please eat something today. Please sleep when you can. Please let the people who love you carry some of the small things. I will be one of those people for as long as you will let me. I am so sorry.
• She knew she was loved by you. I hope that is a comfort in some of the harder moments. She knew. I am so sorry she is gone.
• I am going to reach out more, not less, as the weeks go by. I want you to know that I am not going to fade away. I will still be checking in when everyone else has returned to their normal life. I am so sorry.
• Your mom was here and now she is not and the world looks completely different from where you are standing. I am so sorry. I am standing right beside you if you will let me.
• She shaped you in ways you are still discovering. That shaping continues. I am so sorry for your loss and I am grateful that what she built in you is permanent.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your mother. She was real and she mattered and you loved her well. That is everything. I am here.

RELATED: Writing something for a specific situation — sudden loss, complicated relationship, or after a long illness? These loss of mother sympathy messages are sorted for exactly that.

Sympathy Paragraphs for Loss of Father

For when someone you care about has lost their dad and you want your words to actually land.

• Losing your dad is losing the person who shaped so much of who you are. The way you work. The standards you hold yourself to. The voice in your head that has always sounded a little like his. That kind of loss reaches deep and I am so sorry you are living through it right now.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your father. He raised someone I am proud to know, and that is the truest testament to who he was. I am here for whatever you need right now and for however long you need it.
• Your dad was real and his love for you was real and the loss of him is real in exactly the same proportion. I am not going to minimize any of it. I am so sorry. I am here for the full weight of this grief.
• I have been thinking about you since I heard. I do not want to say the wrong thing so I almost said nothing. But I did not want you to feel forgotten. You are in my heart constantly. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• He gave you a foundation before you even understood you were being given one. Everything you have built since then stands on what he put there. I am so sorry he is gone. I am grateful he was yours.
• Losing a father is losing a kind of steady that is hard to replace. The person who was always there, always in your corner, always an anchor somewhere in the background of your life. I am so sorry that anchor is gone. I am here.
• There are probably things you would have said if you had known. I hope somewhere he already knew them. I am so sorry for the loss and for any of the conversations that did not get to happen. I am here for all of it.
• Your grief is allowed to be as big as it needs to be. He was your dad. There is no smaller version of this loss and I am not going to ask you to find one. I am so sorry. I am here.
• I am going to be here in the quiet weeks too, when everyone else has moved on and the grief is still just as real. I am not fading. I promise. I am so sorry for your loss.
• He raised a good person. I know that because I know you. I am so sorry he is gone. His legacy is walking around in the world in you every single day.
• Your dad believed in you. Even in the hard seasons, even when things were complicated between you, he was proud of you. I hope you carry that with you through this grief. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• Some losses change the whole shape of things. The person you called. The number that is still in your phone. The way Sundays feel now. I am so sorry for all of it. I am right here beside you.
• Grief for a father has its own texture. It can be quiet and then hit hard in the most unexpected places. I am here for all of it — the waves and the spaces between them. I am so sorry for your loss.
• He is in everything you have built and everything you still will. That does not disappear with his death. It keeps going forward with you. I am so sorry he is gone. I am grateful for what he left behind in you.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your dad. I love you. I am not going anywhere. Whatever you need, whenever you need it, I am here.
• He watched you grow into the person you are. He was proud of that growth. I am so sorry you have to keep growing now without him watching. I will be watching in whatever small way I can. I am so sorry.
• Please do not disappear into this grief alone. The people who love you are right here and we want to carry some of this with you. I am one of those people. I am so sorry for your loss.
• Your dad mattered. His life mattered. The way he loved you mattered. None of that disappears with his death. I am so sorry for yours.
• I am thinking about you in the big obvious moments and in the small ordinary ones too. Both kinds are hard after a loss like this. I am so sorry. I am here for both.
• The world has less of him in it now and that is a real and significant thing. I am so sorry. I hope you feel surrounded by people who understand that today and every day.
• He gave you everything he had. I hope you know that. I am so sorry he is gone. I am grateful you had him and he had you.
• I am so sorry for your loss. Please eat. Please rest when you can. Please let the people who love you be useful right now. That is what we are all here for.
• You do not have to be strong about this. Not around me and not around the people who love you. I am here for the not-strong version too. I am so sorry for your loss.
• Your grief is valid. Your loss is real. I am not going to minimize either of those things. I am just going to be here, steady, for however long this takes.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your father. He was one of the good ones. The world is quieter without him in it. I am here.

RELATED: For specific situations like sudden loss, long illness, or complicated relationships, these loss of father sympathy messages go exactly there.

Sympathy Paragraphs for Loss of a Friend

For when someone has lost a close friend and needs to know their grief is being taken seriously.

• Losing a close friend is a grief that does not always get the recognition it deserves. There are no formal roles assigned to it. But the loss is real and it is enormous and you are allowed to feel every bit of it. I am so sorry. I am here for all of it.
• They chose you. That is what makes this kind of friendship so specific. Not because you were family, but because you both kept choosing each other. That kind of chosen love is one of the greatest things in a life and I am so sorry yours has to be missed now.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. I know how much they meant to you. I know the history you had and the specific way they knew you. That kind of knowing is irreplaceable. I am here for whatever you need.
• The loss of a friend is the loss of a witness. Someone who held your history alongside you, who remembered the earlier versions of you, who was there for things no one else was quite there for in the same way. I am so sorry for that specific loss.
• I keep thinking about you and the grief you are carrying. I want you to know that it is allowed to be as big as it is. You do not have to have it together. I am here for the grief that shows and the grief that sits quietly. I am so sorry.
• They were your person in a specific way that only the two of you fully understood. I am so sorry that relationship has to be carried as memory now. I am here for however long it takes to figure out how to do that.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. Not in a passing way. In a real, sitting-with-it way. I see what you lost. I see the gap it leaves. And I am not going to disappear on you in the weeks ahead.
• Friendship is chosen love and it deserves chosen grief. You are allowed to feel this as fully as any other loss. I am so sorry. I am here without any expectation of how long it should take or what form it should take.
• I did not know your friend the way you did. But I knew how much they meant to you. And I know that what you are carrying right now is real and heavy and deserves to be treated with the weight it actually has. I am so sorry.
• I keep reaching for something useful to say and landing on the same truth. I cannot fix this. I can only be here. And I will be here, consistently, for as long as you need. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• The world had something in them that it does not have anymore. And you knew that better than most. I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. I am grateful the world had them at all, and that you got to know them the way you did.
• Some friendships are the foundation of who you are. They are built into the structure of everything. I am so sorry for the loss of yours. Take whatever time you need. I will be here when you come up for air.
• I love you. I am so sorry. I am not going anywhere. I know those are not the biggest words in the world but I mean all three of them completely and without any expiration date.
• Your friend was loved by you and that is one of the great things someone can have in this life. I am so sorry they are gone. I am grateful they had you. I hope you remember that you were that for them.
• You do not have to grieve this in a way that makes anyone else comfortable. Whatever this looks like for you is the right way. I am here for all of it. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• Grief for a friend can be lonely because people expect a different kind and you are feeling something else entirely. I see the complexity. I am not going to rush you through it. I am just here.
• They knew you in a specific way that no one else does quite the same. I am so sorry for the loss of that particular kind of being known. I am here. I will do my best to be the kind of presence that helps.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. I have been thinking about you every day. Please let me know if there is anything I can do — anything practical, anything small. I mean that without any reservation.
• You are carrying something really heavy right now and you do not have to carry all of it alone. I am here. I will show up however you need me to. I am so sorry for your loss.
• This is not a small grief and I am not going to treat it like one. You lost someone who mattered enormously to you. That deserves space and time and people around you who understand that. I am one of those people. I am so sorry.
• I am going to check in on you not just today but in the coming weeks. Because I know that is when it gets harder, when everything gets quieter and the grief is still just as big. I will still be here then. I promise.
• You were a good friend to them. I hope you know that. And I hope in the middle of this grief you can hold onto that truth. I am so sorry for your loss.
• Their absence is a presence of its own right now. I know that. I am so sorry. I am here to sit with you in it whenever you need someone there.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. They were lucky to have been loved by you. And you were lucky to have had them. I hope the second part feels like comfort one day. Right now I am just so sorry.
• Whatever you need. Food, company, distraction, someone to sit in silence with. Just tell me. I am here completely. I am so sorry for your loss.

RELATED: Need something for the card you are sending alongside this? These sympathy card messages for loss of friend include sections for best friends, sudden loss, and childhood friends.

Sympathy Paragraphs for Pet Loss

For when someone has lost a dog, cat, or any animal they loved like family — and needs to feel that grief honored.

• Losing a pet is a real loss. Not a lesser one. A different one, with its own particular texture. They were in every ordinary day. Every morning. Every evening. That kind of daily presence leaves a real absence and I am so sorry you are feeling it right now.
• The thing about loving a pet is that they love you back without any of the conditions. Every single day, exactly as you are. Losing that kind of unconditional daily love is a genuine grief. I am so sorry for yours.
• Your pet was family. I do not care what anyone else thinks about that. They were part of your daily life and your daily love and losing them is a real loss that deserves to be grieved fully. I am so sorry. I am here.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet. I know how much they meant to you. I know what they were in your daily life. That matters and the loss of it matters. I am here for whatever you need right now.
• Grief for a pet can feel lonely because not everyone gets it. I do. I know how much they meant to you and I am not going to minimize it. I am so sorry for your loss. Please let yourself feel this fully.
• They were there every morning. Every evening. Through every good day and every hard one. That kind of constant, loyal presence is irreplaceable. I am so sorry you are feeling the absence of it now.
• The quiet that follows losing a pet is its own kind of weight. The house that feels different. The routines that have a gap in them now. I am so sorry for all of it. I am here.
• You gave them the most loved life they could have had. That is not nothing. That is everything. I am so sorry they are gone and I am grateful they had you.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your pet. A dog’s love is one of the most honest things in the world. Losing that kind of honest, unconditional love is a genuine and significant thing. I am here for your grief however it shows up.
• They were lucky to have you. And you were lucky to have had them. Both of those things are true and both of them are worth sitting with. I am so sorry they are gone.
• You poured so much love into that little life and every bit of it was felt. I am so sorry they are gone. Please be gentle with yourself in the days ahead. Grief for a pet is real grief and it takes real time.
• I know some people do not understand this kind of loss. I want you to know I do. They were your family. The loss of them is real and you are allowed to feel every bit of it. I am so sorry.
• The house feels different now, doesn’t it. The routines that have a hole in them. The places they used to be. I am so sorry for all of those daily reminders. I am here whenever you want to talk about them or not talk at all.
• They gave you their whole life and their whole heart. That is a specific and beautiful kind of love. I am so sorry it is over. I hope the memories start to feel like gifts before they feel like wounds.
• You loved them completely and they knew it every single day of their life. That is the most important thing. I am so sorry they are gone. Please take care of yourself. Grief like this is real and it deserves real time and space.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your pet. The world is smaller without them in it and your daily life is quieter in a way that takes time to adjust to. I am here for that adjustment, for as long as it takes.
• Some animals just become woven into everything. Into the mornings, the evenings, the whole rhythm of a home. I am so sorry yours is gone. I am so sorry for the gap they left behind.
• The love you had for them was real. The grief you are feeling is real. Anyone who tells you otherwise has not loved a pet the way you loved yours. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• You made the right decision for them, even though it cost you enormously. That kind of love — the kind that puts their peace before your pain — is one of the bravest things a person can do. I am so sorry for what it cost you.
• I keep thinking about you and the quiet your home must feel right now. I am so sorry. Please let me know if you want company. I can come sit with you in it. I am here.
• They are gone and you miss them and that is exactly as it should be. Not something to push through or get over. Something to feel, fully, until it softens. I am so sorry for your loss.
• Your pet was lucky every single day they were with you. I hope that is something you can hold onto. I am so sorry they are gone. I am here for whatever you need.
• I am going to keep checking in on you. Not just today. Because I know this kind of grief sneaks up in the ordinary moments and I want you to know you will not be facing those alone. I am so sorry.
• They chose you as their person and you chose them back. That bond was real and the loss of it is real. I am so sorry. Please be kind to yourself through this.
• I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet. The house will take time to feel normal again. Give it that time. And give yourself the same. I am here whenever you need me.

RELATED: Need something for the sympathy card too? These sympathy card messages for loss of dog include a section written specifically for pet owners who had to say goodbye.

Religious Sympathy Paragraphs

For the person whose faith is part of how they grieve and find comfort — and who would be comforted by words that reflect that.

• I am so deeply sorry for your loss. I am praying for you every day. I trust that God is close to the brokenhearted and I am believing that He is especially close to you right now, in all the hard and hollow moments ahead.
• He is at peace now. His suffering is over and the love he had for you does not end with his life. I believe that completely. I am praying for your comfort and your strength in the days to come. I am so sorry for your loss.
• May God hold them gently and may He hold you even more closely in the days ahead. I am praying for your whole family. I am so deeply sorry for your loss and I am trusting God to carry you through this.
• What God has prepared for those who love Him is beyond what we can imagine here. I believe they are there now, whole and at peace. I am so sorry for the loss of them in this world. I am praying for you every day.
• God does not waste grief. I know that does not make it feel smaller right now. But I believe He is near to you in every hard moment and I am praying that you feel that nearness in a real and tangible way. I am so sorry for your loss.
• May the Lord comfort you in the way only He can — the peace that passes all understanding, holding the parts of you that are too broken to hold themselves right now. I am praying for you. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• I am so sorry. I am lifting you and your family up in prayer every single day. I believe God sees every tear and I am trusting Him to sit with you in this grief until you find solid ground again. I am here too.
• They lived a life of love and faith and I believe they have gone home. That is a beautiful truth even in the middle of an incredibly painful loss. I am praying for your family every day. I am so sorry.
• God knew your person before you did and He holds them now. May that truth be a comfort when nothing else can reach the places this grief lives. I am so sorry for your loss. I am praying for you constantly.
• I keep you in my prayers. Not in a generic way. By name, every day, asking God to carry you through this in whatever way you need most right now. I am so sorry for your loss. He is near. I believe that.
• May eternal rest be granted to them and may the light of heaven shine on them forever. And may the God of all comfort wrap your family in His peace during this impossible time. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He is near to you right now, even when it does not feel that way. I am trusting that truth on your behalf when it is hard for you to hold it yourself. I am so sorry for your loss.
• I have been praying for you since I heard. Not just quick prayers but the kind where I sit with it and ask God to show up specifically for you. I believe He will. I am so sorry for your loss. I love you.
• Faith does not take away the pain of losing someone you love. But I believe it holds the person who is lost and it holds the person who is grieving. I am so sorry. I am praying for you every single day.
• May God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding, guard your heart and mind in the hardest days ahead. And may you feel the presence of the One who never leaves you, even now. I am so sorry for your loss.
• I am so sorry. I am praying for rest for them and peace for you and strength for your whole family. I believe God is in the middle of this grief with you. I love you and I am here too.
• He is not really gone. He is just further ahead on the same road. I find that thought comforting and I hope you do too, in the moments when you are able to hold it. I am so sorry for your loss. I am praying for you.
• Your faith will carry you through this even when you cannot feel it carrying. I have seen it carry you before and I believe it will again. I am praying for you. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• May God be near to your family during this season of grief. May you feel His presence not just in the big moments but in the small ordinary ones too — the mornings, the quiet evenings, the unexpected hard moments. I am so sorry.
• I believe what you believe — that death is not the end, that the love continues, that they are whole and at peace now. And I am holding onto that truth alongside you. I am so sorry for your loss. I am praying for you.
• God sees your grief. He does not miss a single moment of it. I am trusting Him to carry you through this even on the days when carrying yourself feels impossible. I am here and I am praying for you constantly.
• Losing someone you love is one of the hardest things faith asks of us — to trust what we believe even when the grief is this real. I am so sorry. I am praying for you and I am right here beside you too.
• I am so sorry for your loss. May the Lord be your strength when yours runs out. May He be your peace when peace feels impossible. And may you feel surrounded by love — His and ours — every single day. I am praying for you.
• I believe they are safe. I believe they are at peace. And I believe that the love they had for you — and you for them — does not end with death. I am so sorry. I am praying for you every day.
• God goes before you into the grief. He is already there, in the hard places ahead that you cannot see yet. I am trusting Him to meet you there. And I am here too, walking beside you in whatever way I can. I am so sorry for your loss.

RELATED: Need something specifically faith-based for the card? These prayer card messages carry the same tone and are ready to write by hand.

Long Sympathy Paragraphs

For when a short message will not cover it and you want to give them something to read slowly and keep.

• I have been sitting with what to say since I heard and everything I write keeps feeling too small. So I am just going to say the truest thing I know. You are loved by people who see what you are going through. Your grief is not invisible. The person you lost mattered deeply. And you do not have to carry any of this alone. I am here. Not just today but in the long quiet stretch that follows. I promise I will not fade away when the hard part really begins.
• There is a grief that comes with losing someone close that has no clean edges. It shows up in the ordinary moments — the cup of coffee, the habit of reaching for the phone, the Tuesday evening that suddenly feels wrong. I am so sorry for those moments. All the ones that are coming that you do not know about yet. I will be thinking of you in them. I will be here for all of it, for however long it takes, without any expectation of when you should start to feel better.
• Losing someone who was woven into your daily life is losing a whole version of normal. The routines change shape. The silence sounds different. The world keeps moving and you have to move with it even when everything in you wants to stop. I am so sorry for that particular exhaustion — the grief and the having to keep going at the same time. Please let the people around you carry some of the load right now. That is what we are here for. I am one of those people.
• I want you to know what I see when I look at you right now. I see someone who loved well. Someone who showed up. Someone who gave everything they had to the person they lost. That matters more than anything else. You loved them well and they knew it. I am so sorry they are gone. I hope in time that knowledge is a comfort. Right now I am just going to be here, close and steady, for as long as you need.
• I know the first weeks are hard in a very particular way — full of people and noise and the surreal sense of getting through each day. I also know that the weeks after that can be harder, when everything goes quiet and the grief settles in differently. I want you to know I will still be here then. I will still be checking in. I will not go back to my normal life and forget that you are still carrying this. I promise. I am so sorry for your loss.
• There is no right way to grieve and there is no right timeline. Some days it will feel manageable. Some days it will not. Some days it will ambush you completely out of nowhere. All of those days are allowed. All of them are part of what it means to have loved someone as much as you loved this person. I am so sorry for your loss. I am here for every kind of day.
• I keep thinking about the specific shape of what you have lost. Not just the person but the relationship. The history. The particular way they knew you and you knew them. The things that only existed between the two of you. I am so sorry for all of it. Grief that specific is allowed to take as long as it takes. I am not going anywhere. I love you and I am right here.
• I want to say something useful and I keep coming up short. So I am just going to say this. I see your grief. I am not afraid of it. I am not going to try to rush you through it or find the silver lining. I am just going to be close, consistently, for whatever version of this you are living in on any given day. That is my promise. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.
• Sending you this because I did not want to say nothing. Because nothing felt worse than reaching out and saying the wrong thing. Because I love you and I have been thinking about you and I needed you to know that. Whatever this looks like from here, you are not facing it alone. I am right here. Please tell me what helps. Please tell me what you need. I will show up for it.
• The love you had for each other was real and visible and one of the good things in the world. I am so sorry for the loss of it. Grief this big is love this big. I know that does not make it smaller right now. But it is true. And I am here for the whole long complicated beautiful sad true thing of it. For as long as you need. I promise.

A sympathy paragraph does not have to be perfect. It just has to be honest and sent. The person on the other side does not need the right words. They need to know you tried. Pick the paragraph that comes closest to what you want to say, make it yours if you want to, and send it. That is enough. That is more than enough.

Save this page for the moments when someone you love is going through something hard and you do not know what to say. These will be here when you need them. And for more support finding the right words, these pages are worth bookmarking: Sympathy Card Messages, Condolence Messages, and Miscarriage Sympathy Messages.

• Loss of Mother Sympathy Messages
• Thinking of You Card Messages
• Healing Captions