6 Ways to Cheer Someone Up in English

Dec 6, 2017 | English Conversation

Last week the following happened to one of my good friends:

She spilled coffee on herself on the way to work. She received terrible news from her boss. And then the school called to tell her one of her children was sick.

And that was just the first few hours in the morning. It got worse from there.

My job, as her friend, was to cheer her up. To make her smile and feel better.

Of course, when our friends are having a terrible day, we can do things like send flowers, send a funny Facebook picture or YouTube video, or simply give a hug.

But what should you say?

If you’re not sure, watch today’s Confident English lesson to get 6 Ways to Cheer Up a Friend in English. (Note: These are great for co-workers and neighbors too!)

You’ve got this. One of my favorite things to say to cheer someone up.

Lesson by Annemarie

In the video lesson, I shared six of my favorites ways to cheer up a friend or a colleague. But of course, there are more than 100 things we can say or do to make our friends smile and feel better.

I’d love to know, what do you do to cheer up your friends?

Of course, cheering up is a little bit different from responding to someone’s really bad news. For example, if your friend just lost her job, you might say something like, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” You can get more about this in my lesson on How to Respond to Bad News.

Now that you’ve watched the video lesson, I’d love to hear from you!

In the comments below, tell me your favorite thing to say to a friend who just received terrible news at work and needs a little cheer up. Or what do you say to make your friend laugh after losing a job, breaking up with someone, losing her purse, or getting a flat tire on the way to work?

You can share with me below. It’s the best way to connect with me and others in the Confident English Community.

And if you’re nervous about sharing in English for the very first time – you’ve got this! 🙂

~ Annemarie

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navya

5 years ago

tq annemarie, that was an another useful lesson from you. this lesson is something for me who cannot handle situations when ppl around me are sad and depressed. i fell short of words to cheer my friends when they get sad. i usually hangout with lots ppl, spend a very valuable time. but when it comes to handling ppl when they’re sad/depressed, i get stuck. i dnt knw what to say. but from this lesson, i can say ‘i’ve got ur back’, ‘you can do this’, ‘you’re stronger than u actually think’. or may be i can add up some… Read more »

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Annemarie

Reply to navya

Hi Navya,

I’m so glad you enjoyed this lesson and found some new expressions to use with friends when they need cheering up. 🙂

Carmen Nuñez

6 years ago

Thank for your lesson, the topic was very useful. I use this vocabulary every time when I talk with my family. they live so far than me and I need to cheer them up. My usual expressions are ” I´m here to listen you” and ” we can solve this problem together”. I’ve appreciated your videos so much.

Reply to Carmen Nuñez

Hi Carmen,
I’m so glad it was a helpful lesson. And I love the encouraging comment you use: we can solve this problem together. Great example!

Irina

Thanks a lot for the lesson today! I cheer my family up every day. I will try to use new expressions in English.
You have got our back!

Reply to Irina

Hi Irina,

I loved your last comment. 🙂 Great job using that expression. I’m happy to know you enjoyed this lesson. Thank you.

Kazuhide

thanks for your lesson. especially this lesson is something for me as a medical doctor. so I can’t say to patients with serious disease to cheer them up using easy words such as ‘take it easy’ ‘I’m 100% behind you. ‘ ‘Don’t push yourself too hard”Everybody have their bad days’ but I think ‘I’m here to help ‘is much better for me to cheer up patients .( I belong in the International University of Health and Welfare in Japan. that’s why I have to deal with many foreigners with a variety of disease)

Reply to Kazuhide

Very perceptive and very true, Kazuhide. Well done. You’re right that most of these sentences would not be appropriate for a doctor to say to his/her patient. These are better used with friends or coworkers. However, ‘I’m here to help’ is an excellent thing to tell a patient. It may or may not cheer them up. If someone has health problems, that can be very scary and stressful, as you know. But when a doctor says, ‘I’m here to help,’ it can be very comforting.

Thank you for your comment.

Nani

Thank you for your lesson,that is very useful.sometimes I have to cheer up my son,the best thing that work for him is hug,Ifonly i told him just a nice words its just like made him feel worse.lol
But for my daughter both are working,hug and cheer up word make her feel much better

Reply to Nani

Hi Nani, I’m happy to know this lesson was helpful to you! And thank you for sharing your favorite ways to cheer up your son and daughter. 🙂