Expressing sympathy?
In English we often say "I'm sorry" to express sympathy. For example, in my friend says that he broke up with his girlfriend, I might say "I'm sorry."

What is the best way to express this feeling in Chinese? Should I say 我替你伤心? 好抱歉? 我同情你? I cannot say 对不起, right?

Question

Expressing sympathy?
In English we often say "I'm sorry" to express sympathy. For example, in my friend says that he broke up with his girlfriend, I might say "I'm sorry."

What is the best way to express this feeling in Chinese? Should I say 我替你伤心?  好抱歉?  我同情你? I cannot say 对不起, right?

Answer

In my experience you wouldn't say any of those, and especially not 对不起。Sympathy in Chinese really depends on context, unlike English where you can use the universal "I'm sorry." For example, after someone tells you how busy they are you could say 太累了！to express sympathy, or if there work is really difficult a good one a good one is 辛苦你，which you could use for almost anything difficult in nature.