How to express sympathy ("I'm really sorry..")

[blaugrau]

Hei!

Just got a message from someone that their relative is in bad shape and was rushed to hospital.. now I'd like to reply something like "I'm really sorry to hear that", but I'm not quite sure how to --

here are my thoughts:

- "olen pahoillani" is I guess for when you're sorry that you've done something wrong, so not suitable in this context?
- "otan osaan" would be suitable (if perhaps a bit overly formal?) only if the person's relative had already passed away, which is a bit premature in this case...
- "tämä on surullista kuulla" is probably a bit clumsy and not really working in Finnish?

... and now I'm a bit out of ideas..

anyone who could help me out here?

[MikeD]

"Ikävä kuulla" would probably work, perhaps followed with "Toivottavasti hän paranee pian", assuming that recovery is a realistic possibility.

[EP]

- "tämä on surullista kuulla" is probably a bit clumsy and not really working in Finnish?

No, it is not clumsy. It is the same as MikeD´s suggestion "ikävä kuulla". "Surullista" just makes it a little more deep than "ikävä". "Ikävä" is lighter than "surullinen".

[blaugrau]

Thanks a lot for your clarifications and suggestions!

[Vellamo]

I think "Olen pahoillani." is just fine in this context. It means both that I'm sorry for something I did or sorry for something that happened (to you).

"Otan osaa." That might be more suitable for someone passing away, though it's not out of the question to use it in this context also.

"Tämä on surullista kuulla." I think the wording is clumsy. "Onpa surullista kuulla." "Onpa ikävä kuulla." Those sound more natural to me, though I guess it could still be worded differently for less spoken-language kind of effect. But using the word "tämä" here doesn't sound quite right to me.

My immediate response to someone being hospitalized would probably be exclaiming: "Voi ei!" And add something hopeful like MikeD's suggestion. "Toivottavasti hän paranee pian." "Toivottavasti asiat järjestyvät."

I hope that was helpful and not just repetition.

[blaugrau]

Thanks Vellamo! (yes it was helpful, it's good to get several views on the matter)