Sending love and hugs...my thoughts are with you...here for you.

Sometimes I ask if they have looked in the last place they saw them. That's what I do when I lose something.

It's never received well, I've found.

I lived in the middle East for a while and I have adopted a version of what they say that I feel conveys sympathy without invoking a deity or referencing an afterlife.

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. May peace and grace be upon you and yours now and forever.

I try to remember something about the person who passed away and post that instead of "Prayers"

My best friend's mother passed less than a month ago. I knew "Mamá Ñata" for over 40 years.

I didn't say "Lidia, I am sorry"....but I wrote "directly to Mamá Ñata" telling her, how important she was for me. My girlfriend understood.

Sorry for your loss

Honestly that they are in my thoughts. If I am closer to them then offer some time, food, possibly a little day to day support while they are adjusting. Usually that first week or so is pretty busy with people in and out and the funeral, wake, whatever else the family might have planned. It's usually the weeks that follow that are the harder to deal with. Checking in with them a few weeks after if you are close enough to them is a good thing to do and letting them spill a bit if they need to.

I don't do that on Facebook. Social media isn't the place for everything, imo

I say, "My condolences to you and your family."

I may say something like, " I know this is the hardest thing in the world, but just know that it gets easier with time".

It varies depending on my relationship with the bereaved, but there are several things a non-religious person can say. I'm very sorry is the best, though.

sorry for your loss

I usually tell them I am sorry for their lost and send my deepest condolences.

I offer them my sincerest condolences.

If they were close enough for me to say something I’ll call. Then if it’s possible I’ll show up and if not I’ll send fruit or a food basket but never flowers ... people grieving forget to eat.... when my dad passed my mom needed the food and was made more upset by flowers. Once the dining table was full of vases and flowers she made me get it all out... FB is not the place. IMHO

I say 'my deepest sympathies and condolences to you and your family'.

Yes, this is a time when letting the grieving person know they are in your thoughts is acceptable. Depending on my relationship with the person suffering the loss, I might offer some tangible help, if there's something they can use, whether it be to take a walk and talk about how they feel, or some help with meals or cleaning, packing up their loved one's belongings, etc.,

Of course, in my line of work (conducting funerals is part of what I do) I make myself avaiaable to conduct the service or offer resources for conducting their own funeral service, memorial or ash scattering.

I say I am sorry it happened and that I'll be remembering them.

I usually share my condolences.

I say my thoughts are with you at this difficult time. If it is a close friend, I would offer my help in any capacity they might need.

I usually say: Sending positive healing energy. I'll be thinking about you and your family. Hugs!

I also tell the person they and their family are in my thoughts, and that it is my hope that their forms will warm their hearts in the midst of their grief. It is my belief that deep grief can be embraced as evidence of great love.

It depends greatly on how close you are to the person you are expressing your sympathy, and how conest you feel you can be with thyem. If I am not really close, I simply say, (I am sorry for your loss.)

Gone to a better place where there is no pain