Sympathy Quotes and Sayings

Sending a sympathy card or expressing your condolences can be hard when you’re at a loss for words. It’s never easy finding the right message to convey your emotions when a loved one endures a difficult period or the loss of a loved one. However, expressing your sympathy with words and gifts to let someone know that they can count on you is a necessary gesture. You can use the following sympathy quotes or condolence messages when sending your heartfelt sympathy card or memorial gifts, reminding the recipient of your enduring love and support.

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Side view of two sad good friends embracing in a bedroom in a house interior with a dark light in the background

Sympathy Quotes For Loss

The following sympathy quotes for loss make heartfelt messages for most recipients. And if you’re looking for additional messaging, look to our family quotes or Miss You Dad quotes and messages.

  • Sympathy card perfect for expressing love and support to a friend or family member“The Remembrance of the good done those we have loved is the only consolation when we have lost them.” – Demoustier
  • “Those we love and lose are always connected by heartstrings into infinity.” – Terri Guillemets
  • “You can’t truly heal from a loss until you allow yourself to FEEL the loss.” – Mandy Hale
  • “And then I heard the angel say, ‘She’s with you every day.’” – Author Unknown
  • “The sun, the moon, the wind, the stars, will forever be around, reminding you of the love you shared, and the peace she’s finally found.” – Author Unknown
  • “Once upon a memory someone wiped away a tear, held me close and loved me, Thank you, dear.” – Author Unknown
  • “Say not in grief ‘he is no more’ but in thankfulness that he was.” – Hebrew Proverb
  • “As long as I can I will look at this world for both of us, as long as I can, I will laugh with the birds, I will sing with the flowers, I will pray to the stars, for both of us.” – Author Unknown
  • “The object is not to forget, but to remember to go on.” – Author Unknown
  • “Those we have held in our arms for a short while we hold in our hearts forever.”  – Author Unknown
  • “Our joys will be greater, our love will be deeper, our life will be fuller because we shared your moment.” – Author Unknown
  • “Do not think of me as gone.  I am with you still in each new dawn.” – Native American Poem

Short Sympathy Quotes and Sympathy Sayings

When sending a sympathy card, it’s important to remember that the individual who’s grieving may not want to read a long message. You should always avoid talking too much about yourself when writing your message, in addition to staying clear of notes that say, “I know how you feel”. The grieving process is an individual one and often times most recipients of sympathy cards and gifts don’t want any “fluff”. You can choose a short and meaningful condolence message or quote to share your sentiment when in doubt of what to say. Craft a complete sympathy message by pairing any of these short sympathy sayings with a lovely memory of the deceased and a specific offer of how you can help in their time of need, or use the following to build a memorial photo book for the grieving family.

  • Personalized sympathy card with botanical motif.“Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts.”
  • “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
  • “I wish you healing and peace.”
  • “I hope you feel surrounded by much love.”
  • “We are so sorry for your loss.”
  • “We are thinking of you during these difficult times.”
  • “May my condolences bring you comfort and may my prayers ease the pain of this loss.”
  • “We pray the love for the lost is forever carried in your memory.”
  • “Words can’t express how saddened we are to hear of your loss.”
  • “May the memory of [insert name] bring you comfort and peace.”
  • “Today and always, may loving memories bring you peace, comfort, and strength.”
  • “My heart is with you in your time of sorrow.”
  • “Wishing you peace and strength during this difficult time.”
  • “May the sorrow you feel in your heart lighten by the love that surrounds you.”
  • “I’m missing [insert name] along with you. With heartfelt condolences.”
  • “Please accept my heartfelt sympathies for your loss.”
  • “I am sending you this card to let you know that I am thinking of you. I am sorry for your loss.”
  • “We are here for you and your family, now and forever.”

Famous Sympathy Card Quotes

Using a sympathy quote in your card is another way to express your emotions and remind the recipient that there’s hope. Poets, great figures, and novelists have laid the groundwork for sympathy messaging and it’s appropriate to use any of these quotes when expressing your condolences.

  • Custom sympathy card with heart and flower motif.“What is lovely never dies, but passes into another loveliness, Star-dust or sea-foam, Flower or winged air.” – Thomas Bailey Aldrich
  • “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” – Helen Keller
  • “Only a moment you stayed, but what an imprint your footprints have left on our hearts.” -Dorothy Ferguson
  • “He spoke well who said that graves are the footprints of angels.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  • “A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again.” – Maya Angelou
  • “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.” – Alfred Lord Tennyson
  • “Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality.” – Emily Dickinson
  • “There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  • “Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in a time of sorrow.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Religious Sympathy Quotes And Verses

If you share a religious bond with your friend or loved one, try using a religious sympathy quote or Bible verse to send a little light their way. Religious sympathy quotes and verses are often comforting and serve as a source of strength and unconditional love. In addition to Bible verses, you can also write your own religious saying for a heartfelt message or look to our Bible verses about family resource.

sympathy flower arrangement

  • “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
  • “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
  • “For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.” Psalms 18:28
  • “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
  • “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
  • “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philemon 4:7
  • “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
  • “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” – Isaiah 43:2
  • “We pray the love of God enfolds you during your journey through grief. We send you thoughts of comfort.”
  • “May the love of God heal you as the burden in your heart abounds.” -Unknown
  • “May you take comfort in knowing there is one more angel above us.” -Unknown

Words Of Sympathy

If you’re looking for different ways of expressing your sympathy, or you feel that word repetition is taking away from the meaning of your letter, consider the alternative words of sympathy below.

  • Sympathy
  • Condolence
  • Affinity
  • Compassion
  • Empathy
  • Kindness
  • Sensitivity
  • Understanding
  • Unity
  • Warmth
  • Consolation
  • Solace
  • Comfort
  • Commiseration

Resources related to Sympathy Quotes

Your comfort, time, and care, will never be forgotten after reaching out to a loved one who is grieving. Sympathy quotes and messages can go a long way and aid in making life a little bit easier for the recipient. Do your best to communicate and lend a few kind words. For specific tips on writing sympathy card notes for the loss of a mother, loss of a father, loss of a spouse, funeral flower cards, and more, visit our comprehensive article on what to write in a sympathy card.

And if you’re looking for additional resources with content related to sympathy quotes, see the guides below: