What a pity.

所谓‘好事不出门，坏事传千里’，我们日常在不同途径接收到各种千奇百怪的消息，像某人的猫儿跑掉，某某人跳楼等等，对于听到一些不幸的消息，外国人很喜欢说：What a pity.(真遗憾，真可怜)。通常What a pity. 都是用在一些不幸的小事上，例如：车子被涂鸦或买不中彩票，也可以用What a shame. / That's bad news.　如果那件事情是比较严重的，例如某人过世、爆发战争等等，就要用强烈一点的说法：That's terrible. / That's awful. / I'm sorry to hear that.(很难过听到这样)。

对话

A：Did you know Bobby has gained 30 pounds since he got married three months ago?

B：His wife must be a good cook.

A：Yes, she is. But she's gained 40 pounds too.

B：What a pity.

甲：你知不知道波比结婚三个月来已重了30磅?

乙：他的妻子定是个烹饪高手。

甲：没错，但她也重了40磅。

乙：真可怜哦!

要表示可惜或同情，英文可说：What a pity.　/ That's(或It's)a pity. 或What a shame. / That's(或It's)a shame. 例如："Look at the new carpet. It's ruined." "Oh, what a shame!"(‘看这张新地毯，毁啦!’‘啊，真可惜。’)

此外，你还可以说：Oh dear. 或Oh no.，例如："I've lost my mobile." "Oh no, that's the third time!"(‘我失去了行动电话。’‘哎呀，这是第三次了。’)

另一个常见说法，是以How字带出一些形容词 (adjective) 或作形容词用的现在分词(present participle，即ing形式动词)：How upsetting / disturbing / annoying.(真令人不快)、How awful / dreadful / frightful / terrible.(真糟糕)、How unfortunate.(真不幸)。例如："I'm afraid the picnic will have to be cancelled because of the rain." "How disappointing!"(‘由于下雨，野餐旅游得取消了。’‘真可惜。’)

当然，sorry也可以表示惋惜，例如："My wife's heart condition has worsened." "Oh, I'm sorry about that."(‘我妻子的心脏病更加严重了。’‘啊，我听了也觉得难过。’)

最后不妨谈谈What a mercy. / That's(或It's)a mercy. 和Pity一样，mercy也可解作‘同情’，但What a mercy. 等?有‘幸而’含义，不是说‘可惜’，切勿和What a pity. 等混淆，例如：It is a mercy that he's not coming.(幸好他不会来)。