Expressing disappointment

Sometimes you are expecting something to be good and in the end it is less good than you were expecting. Here are ten phrases you can use to show your disappointment.

What a pity/shame!
How disappointing!
That's too bad.
What a bummer!
What a let-down!
That's (just) so disappointing!
I was so looking forward to...
We had high hopes for...
It did not live up to expectation.
What we had been led to expect was...

Explanations

• Phrases 1 and 2 show quite a strong feeling of sadness at a personal disappointment.
• Phrase 3 is often used to sympathize with another person's disappointment.
• Phrases 4 and 5 are very informal and may be used to show anger or sadness at your own or other people's misfortune.
• Phrases 7 and 8 emphasize the expectations that you had before the more negative result.
• Phrase 9 is more formal and could be used in a formal letter of complaint.
• Phrase 10 can be used in formal letters of complaint to explain what you had believed because of wrong information you were given.