Professional context meaning
How to give bad news in English
General Phrases
- I’m sorry to say that…
- Unfortunately, we have to inform you that…
- I regret to inform you that…
- It pains me to tell you that…
- I wish I had better news, but…
- I’m afraid I have some bad news…
- Regrettably, we have to let you know that…
- It’s unfortunate, but…
- I have some disappointing news to share…
- I’m sorry to bring you this news…
- I hate to say this, but…
- I need to tell you something unpleasant…
- I have some unfortunate news for you…
- I must inform you that…
- Sadly, we have to report that…
- I’m sorry to have to tell you that…
- I regret to inform you of…
- I’m afraid the news isn’t good…
- I have some bad news that I need to share…
- I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news…
Professional Contexts
- I need to address a concern regarding…
- We’ve encountered a problem with…
- It appears there’s been an issue with…
- We regret to inform you of the following…
- I must convey that there has been a setback with…
- Unfortunately, our plans have hit a snag…
- We’ve encountered an unexpected complication with…
- I need to discuss a serious matter with you…
- I have some disappointing developments to report…
- I’m writing to inform you of an unfortunate situation…
- There has been an unfortunate turn of events regarding…
- I’m afraid we have encountered a problem with…
- Unfortunately, we need to revise our expectations concerning…
- I’m sorry to inform you that there has been a delay with…
- We must inform you that our project is facing a setback…
- I regret to inform you that our initial plans have changed…
- It’s unfortunate, but we need to address a new issue with…
- We’ve run into a challenge that affects…
- I must let you know that there has been an unforeseen problem…
- Regrettably, we have encountered an obstacle with…
Personal Contexts
- I’m really sorry, but I need to tell you something…
- I hate to break it to you, but…
- I wish the news was better, but…
- I have some upsetting news to share with you…
- I’m sorry to say that things haven’t worked out as planned…
- I need to let you know that something unfortunate happened…
- It’s not easy for me to tell you this, but…
- I’m afraid I have some distressing news for you…
- I regret to inform you that there’s been a problem with…
- I’m really sorry, but things didn’t turn out the way we hoped…
- I’m sorry to say that we’re not able to proceed with…
- I wish I could say otherwise, but…
- I have to tell you some bad news about…
- I’m sorry to bring you this disappointing update…
- Unfortunately, things didn’t go as we expected…
- I’m really sorry, but I need to share some tough news…
- I’m afraid I have some unfortunate news regarding…
- I wish the situation were different, but…
- I have some difficult news to deliver…
- I’m truly sorry, but we’ve encountered a problem with…
Medical Contexts
- I’m afraid we have some concerning results…
- I need to discuss some troubling news about your health…
- Unfortunately, the test results show…
- I’m sorry to say that your condition has not improved…
- I regret to inform you that the prognosis isn’t positive…
- I need to talk to you about a serious health concern…
- I’m afraid we’ve encountered some complications with your treatment…
- The news is not what we hoped for…
- I’m sorry, but the diagnosis is not favorable…
- Unfortunately, we need to discuss some difficult findings…
- I’m afraid we have to address a concerning issue regarding…
- I’m really sorry, but the results are not encouraging…
- I regret to inform you that there are complications with…
- I’m afraid the news isn’t good regarding your health…
- Unfortunately, your test results have shown…
- I need to share some difficult news about your condition…
- I’m sorry to tell you that the situation has worsened…
- The diagnosis isn’t what we hoped for, I’m afraid…
- I regret to inform you that the treatment isn’t working as expected…
- I’m sorry, but we need to discuss some troubling results…
Financial or Business Contexts
- I’m sorry to inform you that there’s been a financial setback…
- Regrettably, we have encountered some fiscal difficulties…
- I need to let you know that our budget has been impacted…
- Unfortunately, we have to report a decline in…
- I’m afraid the financial outlook isn’t positive…
- I’m sorry to inform you that there has been an unexpected loss…
- It’s unfortunate, but we’ve hit a financial hurdle…
- I need to discuss some troubling financial news with you…
- Regrettably, we have to adjust our projections…
- I’m afraid we have to report a budget shortfall…
- Unfortunately, our revenues have not met expectations…
- I regret to inform you that there has been a financial discrepancy…
- I’m sorry, but we need to address a fiscal issue…
- I’m afraid there has been an unexpected downturn in…
- Regrettably, we have encountered some financial challenges…
- I need to inform you of a revenue shortfall…
- It’s unfortunate, but our financial situation has worsened…
- I’m sorry to report that there has been a financial issue…
- I regret to inform you that we’re facing a financial setback…
- Unfortunately, our budget has been affected by…
General Empathetic Approaches
- I understand this might be hard to hear, but…
- I wish I had better news, but…
- I know this is disappointing, but…
- I’m really sorry to have to tell you this, but…
- I can imagine how upsetting this must be, but…
- I’m deeply sorry to bring this news…
- I wish things were different, but…
- I realize this isn’t what you were hoping for, but…
- I’m sorry to say this might be difficult to process…
- I hope you can understand the situation, though it’s not ideal…
- I know this is tough news to hear…
- I’m very sorry to be the bearer of such news…
- I regret that I have to give you this news…
- I understand this is not what you wanted to hear…
- I’m sorry if this causes you distress…
- I hope you can understand the situation despite the bad news…
- I’m really sorry to tell you this, but…
- I realize this might be a disappointment…
- I’m deeply sorry for the inconvenience this may cause…
- I know this isn’t easy, and I apologize for the news…
Professional contexts meaning in English
How to give bad news in English General Phrases