Sometimes a quote says what you are trying to say better than you can. The right one, written at the top of a sympathy card and followed by a line of your own, can mean a lot to someone who is grieving.
Below are grief quotes for a sympathy card, grouped by theme, plus Bible verses about grief and lines to write after the quote.
Article contents
- How to Use a Quote in a Sympathy Card
- Short Grief Quotes
- Quotes About Love and Loss
- Quotes About Grief
- Comforting Quotes About Death and Heaven
- Bible Verses About Grief
- What to Write After the Quote
- Frequently Asked Questions
How to Use a Quote in a Sympathy Card
- Pick one quote. One is enough. Choose words you think the family would agree with.
- Write it at the top. Put the quote first and the name of the person who said it under it.
- Add your own line. Say you are sorry and share a memory or a kind word about the person who died.
- Sign it. "With sympathy," "Thinking of you" or "With love" all work.
Example: "'What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.' (Helen Keller) Dear Mark, I am so sorry about your mom. She made everyone feel welcome at your house. Thinking of you, Lisa"
Short Grief Quotes
A short quote fits on the front flap or above your note.
- "Grief is the price we pay for love." (Queen Elizabeth II)
- "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
- "Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts." (Traditional)
- "The song is ended, but the melody lingers on." (Irving Berlin)
- "The pain passes, but the beauty remains." (Pierre-Auguste Renoir)
- "Sorrow makes us all children again." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
- "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." (Thomas Campbell)
- "Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality." (Emily Dickinson)
Quotes About Love and Loss
- "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." (Helen Keller)
- "Say not in grief that she is no more, but say in thankfulness that she was." (Hebrew proverb)
- "Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." (Irish headstone inscription)
- "Those we have held in our arms for a little while, we hold in our hearts forever." (Unknown)
- "When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure." (Unknown)
- "What is lovely never dies, but passes into other loveliness." (Thomas Bailey Aldrich)
Quotes About Grief
- "Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break." (William Shakespeare, Macbeth)
- "There is no grief like the grief that does not speak." (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
- "Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind." (William Wordsworth)
- "The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living." (Cicero)
- "Grief is itself a medicine." (William Cowper)
Comforting Quotes About Death and Heaven
These fit a family that finds comfort in the idea of heaven or an afterlife.
- "Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room." (Henry Scott Holland)
- "I cannot say, and I will not say that he is dead. He is just away." (James Whitcomb Riley)
- "Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal." (Thomas Moore)
Bible Verses About Grief
Use a verse when you know the family shares your faith. Verses are from the New International Version (NIV). For more, see our Christian guide to sympathy verses and sayings.
- "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)
- "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)
- "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3)
- "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
- "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)
- "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)
- "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
- "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
What to Write After the Quote
A quote is a start, not the whole message. Follow it with one of these lines, then sign your name.
- I'm so sorry. I'm thinking of you and your family.
- We will miss her laugh at every holiday.
- He was one of the kindest people I have known.
- I hope this brings a little comfort this week.
- I'm here if you want to talk, or if you just need a meal.
- Holding you close in my thoughts.
- I keep thinking about the stories she used to tell.
- We are so grateful we got to know him.
- Please don't feel you need to reply. I just wanted you to know I care.
- With love and sympathy,
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it okay to put a quote in a sympathy card?
Yes. A quote can say what is hard to put into your own words. Add at least one personal line after it so the card sounds like you.
Where do I write the quote in the card?
Write it at the top of the inside panel, with the name of the person who said it on the next line. Your own message goes below.
Should I use a Bible verse or a quote?
Use a Bible verse if you know the family shares your faith. If you are not sure, one of the quotes about love and loss is a safe choice.
What is a good short quote for a sympathy card?
"Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts" and "Grief is the price we pay for love" are two of the most used. Both are short enough for any card.
Cards for a Sympathy Note
Our sets are blank inside, so there is room for a quote and a personal note.
- Bible Verse Sympathy Cards: each card carries a verse of comfort, a good match for the Bible verses above.
- Nautical Lighthouse Cards: quiet watercolor lighthouses with no words on the front, for a family that is not religious.
For more help, see what to write in a sympathy card, our short sympathy messages and happy heavenly birthday messages.
