# ottaa osaa / to be sorry about (something)



## Gavril

Päivää,

I was trying to end my last post by saying “I’m sorry about what happened in Hyvinkää last week”, but I realized I wasn’t sure how to do this.

I thought that a sentence involving _otan osaa _might work. But, everywhere I’ve seen _Otan osaa _used, it seems to be used on its own, without a specification of what the person is sorry about. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person write _Otan osaa [ikävästä tapahtumasta] –  _instead, it seems more common to express this information with two or more sentences, or two or more independent clauses:

_Kuinka ikävä tapahtuma -- otan osaa._

Is this an accurate understanding of how _Otan osaa _is normally used? How would you suggest that I express the meaning "I'm sorry about (a tragic event)"?

Kiitos


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## sakvaka

Gavril said:


> Päivää,
> 
> I was trying to end my last post by saying “I’m sorry about what happened in Hyvinkää last week”, but I realized I wasn’t sure how to do this.
> 
> I thought that a sentence involving _otan osaa _might work. But, everywhere I’ve seen _Otan osaa _used, it seems to be used on its own, without a specification of what the person is sorry about. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person write _Otan osaa [ikävästä tapahtumasta] –  _instead, it seems more common to express this information with two or more sentences, or two or more independent clauses:
> 
> _Kuinka ikävä tapahtuma -- otan osaa._
> 
> Is this an accurate understanding of how _Otan osaa _is normally used? How would you suggest that I express the meaning "I'm sorry about (a tragic event)"?
> 
> Kiitos



You're absolutely right. One possibility would be to say _Olen pahoillani tuosta ikävästä välikohtauksesta_, but to me it appears to imply that the apologizer has been in charge of the event - at least partially.

How about _Ikävä juttu tuo Hyvinkään tapaus_... ?


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## Gavril

sakvaka said:


> You're absolutely right. One possibility would be to say _Olen pahoillani tuosta ikävästä välikohtauksesta_, but to me it appears to imply that the apologizer has been in charge of the event - at least partially.
> 
> How about _Ikävä juttu tuo Hyvinkään tapaus_... ?



This is a broader topic, but I would have thought that _juttu _in this case would sound a little bit "detached". According to my understanding of _juttu _(up until now), I thought it would be used in cases like,

_Valitettava juttu, tuo Fiskarsin osakkeen hinnan lasku

_where the speaker doesn't own a lot of stock in Fiskars, and the listener probably doesn't either.

Would it also be normal to say, e.g.,

_Valitettava/Ikävä juttu, isoäitisi poismeno.

_?


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## Grumpy Old Man

I'll butt in if I may. _Valitettava/Ikävä juttu tuo isoäitisi poismeno_ sounds a little casual but I see or hear nothing inappropriate in it. On the other hand, _Otan osaa isoäitisi poismenon johdosta_ is quite formal and might not be said to a good friend.  Very much depends on the tone of voice, the situation, the expression on one's face and so forth. Besides, some people find some expressions more formal or colloquial than others. I have seen people recommend some expressions that I have never heard and would of course never use myself.

Also, what is commonly used in one language may not be that common in another. In English, many people just *love* lots of inanimate things.  Last night I heard a British tennis commentator say on television that he "*loved* the way Player X hits his backhand". I cannot imagine a Finn saying that in a similar situation.  What is natural in English may be unnatural in Finnish  -  and vice versa, of course.


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