Death is a part of life, but not one we talk about very much. It is important to be able to know what to say to a person when someone close to them has died, which is why we are going to look at this topic today.  In this post I’ll review vocabulary related to death and dying, and how to tell someone that you are sorry about the death of their loved one.

There are a number of ways to say that a person has died in English, these include:

died – My grandmother died last week.
passed away – My grandmother passed away last week.
moved on – My grandmother moved on to a better place.
is no longer with us – My grandmother is no longer with us.
left us – My grandmother left us last week.
expired – My grandmother expired last week.

There are also many euphemisms, idioms, or expressions in English to describe when a person has died. These are much more casual expressions and should not be used lightly. They should not be used with people you do not know well. You are likely to hear some of these expressions on TV or in movies, so you should know what they mean, but be very cautious about using these yourself. All of these expressions mean the same thing, that a person has died.

gone to meet his/her maker – He has gone to meet his maker.
kicked the bucket – She finally kicked the bucket.
sleeping with the fishes – He is sleeping with the fishes now.
bought the farm – She bought the farm last week.
checked out – He checked out last week.
croaked – She croaked overnight.
pushing up daisies – He is pushing up daises now.

Here is some other vocabulary related to death and dying you should be aware of:

a funeral or a wake – This is a ceremony honoring a person who has recently died. It usually involves a burial of the body or cremation.

a viewing – This is the time before a funeral or wake that family and friends come to see the deceased person one last time before he or she is buried or cremated.

Now, the most important thing to know is what to say to someone after a person close to them has died. Here are a number of appropriate things you can say.

“Please accept my condolences.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I’m deeply saddened by your loss.”
“You have my deepest sympathy.”
“I’m praying for you and your family” – or – “I’m thinking about you and your family.”