German · Real conversations
How to respond to “Das tut mir leid zu hören.” in German
Sympathy can be answered with thanks, a short acknowledgment of difficulty, or a clear preference for privacy.
What you might hear
Das tut mir leid zu hören.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Choose a reply that fits
Danke für deine Worte.
Thank you for saying that.
Acknowledge the supportive words.
Ich weiß deine Freundlichkeit zu schätzen.
I appreciate your kindness.
Recognize the person's kindness.
Es war schwierig.
It's been difficult.
Share a little about how things have felt.
Ich möchte gerade lieber nicht darüber sprechen.
I'd prefer not to talk about it right now.
Set a conversational boundary when you need it.
Two short exchanges
Receiving sympathy
Das tut mir leid zu hören.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Danke für deine Worte.
Thank you for saying that.
A supportive personal message
Es tut mir sehr leid, dass du das durchmachen musst.
I'm so sorry for what you're going through.
Ich weiß deine Freundlichkeit zu schätzen.
I appreciate your kindness.
Your turn
Acknowledge that the situation has been difficult without adding details.
Reveal a sample reply
Es war schwierig.
It's been difficult.
This response guide in other languages
A note on speaking German
Use Sie for formal address and du with people you address informally. Könnten Sie …? is a useful polite request. Keep noun capitals and the verb position shown in each complete sentence.
The examples preserve German accents and ß. Read a full sentence before replacing a detail: a subordinate clause can move the verb to the end, and case can change an article or pronoun.
