Feeling Disappointed: English phrases + dialogue

We all feel disappointed when our plans go wrong. But which phrases do native speakers use to talk about disappointment and regret?

This dialogue and common English phrases will show you how to talk about disappointing events in a more natural way!

Contents

A disappointing evening: dialogue example

In this British English dialogue, Kim is telling Ally about her recent trip to a restaurant. Kim says she was feeling excited before the meal, but the meal was terrible. Kim is feeling very disappointed. Ally tries to show she understands how Kim is feeling.

Listen!

Listen to the dialogue. Try to understand each phrase and focus on the tone of regret or sympathy.
Review the useful phrases from the dialogue.
Listen again and read the full transcript to deepen your understanding.

Describing disappointing events

These phrases are often used to describe feelings of regret or disappointment.

Feeling a little let down

English speakers often “play down” disappointing events – even if their experience was terrible!

To talk about things that were not too disappointing, we often use softeners, like “a bit”, “a little” or “quite”.

When Ally asks about last night’s birthday meal, Kim says:

Well, it was a bit disappointing, actually. (actually = to be honest)

Here are some other natural phrases we use when we are feeling a little disappointed:

It was a bit of a let down. = it was a little disappointing.
It was a bit of a disappointment.
It didn’t really work out as planned. = It went wrong.
It wasn’t quite what we were hoping for. = It wasn’t as good as we thought it would be.
It didn’t really meet our expectations. = We thought it would be better.

Massive disappointments

To describe really disappointing experiences, we often use phrases like “a waste of time”, or “a nightmare”.

You can make these phrases even stronger by using: “a total..”, “a complete..” and “such a..” before them.

Example:

It was a total nightmare!

Here some other ways to say something was really awful!

It was a massive / a huge disappointment.
It was a (total / complete) waste of time.
It was a (total / complete) waste of money.
It was such a waste of time / money, etc.
It was such a nightmare.

Another very common way to say you are disappointed is: “gutted”.

In the dialogue, Ally says:

God, I bet you were gutted, weren’t you? = I imagine you were very disappointed. Is that right?

Here are some more examples of “gutted”:

We lost (the match) again. I’m gutted! (I’m really disappointed)
I’m feeling really gutted about that cake I made. It tastes like an old shoe!

Expressing regret

When talking about disappointing things, we often say how much we regret doing that thing.

To express regret in English, we use phrases like “I wish..” or “If only” and then past perfect simple (I + had + past participle).

We can use “I wish” with either had or hadn’t. However, “If only” is more common with positive statements (had):

I wish I hadn’t / I’d never gone. (I wish + HADN’T)
I wish I’d stayed at home. (I wish + HAD)
If only I’d stayed at home. (If only + HAD)
If only I had~~n’t~~ / I’d ~~never~~ gone

During her chat with Ally, Kim says:

Honestly, I wish we’d never set foot in that place. = I wish we had not gone to that place (because it was rubbish!)

Here are a few more ways to say you regret doing something that turned out bad:

I (really) wish I’d never bothered (going).
I (so) wish I hadn’t bothered (going).
If only we’d gone somewhere else!
We should never have gone there!

Responding to other people’s disappointment

Modal phrases like “You must be so disappointed!” or “You must have been gutted” show other people that you understand how bad they feel.

“You must” in this context means: “I can imagine ..“ or “I guess ..”.

We also use “fixed phrases” to convey sympathy when hearing about disappointment.

At the end of the conversation, Ally says:

You poor thing! = I feel sorry for you / I can imagine how disappointed you feel.

You could also use these phrases to show you understand how disappointed someone feels:

What a nightmare!
What a shame!
What a pity!
Oh, that’s such a shame / such a pity!
That’s such bad luck.

Regret: Dialogue Transcript

Read the dialogue transcript while listening to the audio to understand each speaker’s tone and stress.

Ally: So, how was the birthday meal last night?
Kim: Well, it was a bit disappointing, actually.
Ally: Oh no! What a shame! What was wrong with it?
Kim: Well, for a start, we had to wait about an hour for our food. And then when it did arrive, the waiter dropped soup all over my dress!
Ally: No way! What an absolute nightmare!
Kim: Yeah, it was. And then, to cap it all, when the bill came, we found they’d overcharged us. That was the last straw.
Ally: God, I bet you were gutted, weren’t you?
Kim: Yeah, and the worst thing was that we’d been looking forward to it for so long. Honestly, I wish we’d never set foot in that place.
Ally: You poor thing!

Extra Vocabulary from the Dialogue

For a start = the first thing that happened was…
To cap it all = the situation was already bad, and then something even worse happened.
They (had) overcharged us = the bill for the meal was too high (they charged too much money).
That was the last straw = I thought, “I’ve had enough of this!”
The worst thing was… = the thing that upset me most about this situation was…
Set foot in (the place) = to go somewhere; visit a place.

Use these phrases next time you want to talk about a disappointing experience – or show sympathy to someone who is upset!