CONTINUED from last week s topic. A brief sentence may allow you to make unfortunate people feel better. Here are four more ways to respond to a friend s tale of woe: 1. It must be tough for you / hard on you. 那你肯定很难受吧/真是难为你了 - Both my grandmother and wife are in the hospital now. (我奶奶和妻子都住院了。) - That must be tough for you. (那真是难为你了。) 2. Oh, poor thing / poor baby! 可怜的家伙/你真惨 Note: This is a little playful or motherly and is not used in really troubling situations. - I got a C on that exam yesterday. Of course I hadn t studied for it. (我昨天考试得了个C。当然我也没认真学过。) - Oh, you poor thing! (哦!真是可怜哪。) 3. I know how you feel. / I understand how you feel. 我理解你的心情 Note: Putting yourself in the other person s shoes or acting as if you can share the problem, even a serious one. - My wife just left me, I don t know how to cope. (我老婆刚离开我了,真不知道怎么办。) - I know how you feel, mine left me suddenly last year and I m still dealing with it. (我了解你的感受,我老婆去年也突然离开了我,我到现在还难受着呢。) 4. It happens / could happen (to anyone). 这事也挺常见的/这种事谁都可能遇到 Note: This is encouragement for a friend facing something unexpected. You can also say "I ve seen worse," but this doesn t sound quite sympathetic. - I got my bag stolen in the pub. Money. Cellphone. Keys. All gone. I couldn t get in my room and had to spend the night outside. (我的包在酒吧被人偷了。钱、手机、钥匙,全丢了。我进不去屋,只能在外面过夜。) - These things happen. And I ve seen worse. One of my foreign friends once got his passport stolen. He had to spend the night in the police station because he couldn t prove his identity. (这种事常见着呢。我还见过更糟糕的。我有个外国朋友护照都被偷了。他在警察局呆了一晚,因为他没法证明自己的身份。)