120 Sad Quotes and Sayings about Life and Love

This curated list of Sad Quotes about Life and Love may provide you some perspective during tough times.

In life, there will always be sad events and happenings that are inevitable. These sad events can be about love, life, or even death.

Sadness is defined as “an emotional state of unhappiness, ranging in intensity from mild to extreme and usually aroused by the loss of something that is highly valued (e.g., by the rupture of a relationship)” by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Sad situations can take all of our energy and happiness but we can always try to get the learnings from those sad experiences.

In those moments of sadness, we can turn to the wisdom of others who have felt the same way. So we have prepared a collection of sad quotes about life and love, where you’ll find words of comfort or insights from writers, philosophers, and everyday people who have faced their own struggles.

Don’t forget to share your favorite one in the comment section below—we’d love to hear from you

Sad Quotes and Sayings About Life (images and video)

1. “We never taste happiness in perfection, our most fortunate successes are mixed with sadness.” —Pierre Corneille, French poet

2. “Sad things happen. They do. But we don’t need to live sad forever.” – Mattie Stepanek (July 17, 1990 – June 22, 2004), American poet

3. “Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.” –Stephen Chbosky, American screenwriter

4. “Some people are going to leave, but that’s not the end of your story. That’s the end of their part in your story.” ―Faraaz Kazi, Indian writer

5. “Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.” –Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian Hindu monk

6. “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.” —Percy Bysshe Shelley, British writer

7. “There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock and take all the sadness away, but I have the feeling that if I did, the joy would be gone as well.” —Nicholas Sparks, American novelist 

8. “I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.” ―C. S. Lewis, British writer

9. “There are two types of people in the world: those who prefer to be sad among others, and those who prefer to be sad alone.” ―Nicole Krauss, American writer

10. “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ―Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet

11. “We must understand that sadness is an ocean, and sometimes we drown, while other days we are forced to swim.” —R.M. Drake, writer

12. “The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.” —Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur

13. “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” –Unknown

14. “The good thing about pain is that it makes you think even about the person who hurts you most.” Unknown

15. “Realizing that your pain will either be listened or it will become a topic of discussion is really heartbreaking.” Unknown

16. “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” —Leo Buscaglia, Motivational speaker

17. “Sometimes saying the right thing leaves bad impression on someone’s heart.” Unknown

18. “Speak out don’t wait for the worse to happen.” Unknown

19. “People will come and go, true ones will remain forever.” Unknown

20. “After every dark night, there is a brighter day waiting for you.” Unknown

21. “Be strong now because things will get better. It might be stormy now, but it can’t rain forever.” Unknown

22. “What brings us to tears, will lead us to grace. Our pain is never wasted.” —Bob Goff, American author

23. “Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.” —Christopher Morley, American journalist

24. “Sometimes you’ve got to be able to listen to yourself and be okay with no one else understanding.” Unknown

25. “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” —Norman Cousins, American journalist 

26. “Never compare yourself with others because they don’t know your bad time and you don’t know about theirs.” Unknown

Sad Quotes and Sayings about Life (Video)

Sad Love Quotes and Sayings

27. “It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” ―Samuel Butler, novelist

28. “Don’t let the scars on your heart define the way you love.” ―Laura Chouette

29. “And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” — Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-American writer

30. “I think the worst part about a breakup sometimes, if one could choose a worst part, would possibly be if you get out of a relationship, and you don’t recognize yourself because you changed a lot about you.” – Taylor Swift, American singer

31. “It’s amazing how someone can break your heart, and you can still love them with all the little pieces.” –Ella Harper

32. “I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken — and I’d rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived.” – Margaret Mitchell, American novelist

33. “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” – Samuel Butler, English novelist

34. “Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.” ― José N. Harris, writer

35. “Tears are words that need to be written.” ― Paulo Coelho, Brazilian writer

36. “Sometimes you don’t realize how much you care for someone until they stop caring for you.” – Anonymous

37. “The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.”- Jim Rohn, American writer

38. “Tears are words the mouth can’t say nor can the heart bear.”– Joshua Wisenbaker, writer

39. “Don’t cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won’t let you see the stars.” – Violeta Parra, Chilean composer 

40. “It’s sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew.” – Henry Rollins, American singer

41. “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” – Richard Puz, writer

42. “Sometimes your eyes are not the only place the tears fall from.” – Faraaz Kazi, Indian writer

43. “We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all.” — Eleanor Roosevelt, Former First Lady of the United States

44. “Let’s not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.” — Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch painter

45. “For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been.” – John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet

46. “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet

47. The word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist 

48. First, accept sadness. Realize that without losing, winning isn’t so great. – Alyssa Milano, actress

49. You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness. – Jonathan Safran Foer

50. The good times of today, are the sad thoughts of tomorrow. – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer

Short Sad Quotes and Sayings about Love

51. “It is not your duty to make everyone happy.” Unknown

52. “It hurts because it mattered.  And that’s an important thing to acknowledge to yourself.” – John Green

53. “The heart was made to be broken.” – Oscar Wilde, writer

54. “What is meant to stay will stay.” – Unknown

55. “Tears come from the heart and not from the brain.” –Leonardo da Vinci, Italian polymath

56. “Love is like war: easy to begin but hard to end.” — Anonymous 

57. “Love is the wisdom of the fool and the folly of the wise.” — S. Johnson

58. “Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.” — Anonymous 

59. “I never felt true love until I was with you, and I never felt true sadness until you left me.” — Anonymous

60. “If you love something, let it go…” Unknown

61. “Life goes on… with or without you.” – Faraaz Kazi, Indian author

62. “Love is unconditional. Relationships are not.” – Grant Gudmunson

63. “I think you have to pay for love with bitter tears.” — Edith Piaf, French singer

64. “The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.” — Maureen Duffy, poet

Sad Quotes about Love to Help you Cope with the Heartache

65. “Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.” – C.S Lewis

66. “When someone leaves, it’s because someone else is about to arrive.” – Paulo Coelho, Brazilian writer

67. “Breakups can be sad, but sometimes tears are the price we pay for a freedom we need.” – Steve Maraboli, speaker

68. “Let them go if they always have an excuse to stay away from you.”― Garima Soni

69. “The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it.” – Nicholas Sparks, At First Sight

70. “Let it hurt. Let it bleed. Let it heal. And let it go.” – Nikita Gill

71. “Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.” — Steve Maraboli, speaker

72. “No matter how badly your heart is broken, the world does not stop for your grief.” — Anonymous

73. “Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing.” – Anais Nin

74. “My mistake was making you a priority when I was your second choice.” – Unknown

75. “There is a time for departure, even when there’s no certain place to go.” — Tennessee Williams

76. “There is a distinct, awful pain that comes with loving someone more than they love you.” – Steve Maraboli, speaker

77. “Our greatest joy and our greatest pain come in our relationships with others.” ~ Stephen R. Covey, American author

78. “You can never control who you fall in love with, even when you’re in the most sad, confused time of your life. You don’t fall in love with people because they’re fun. It just happens. “– Kirsten Dunst, actress

79. “We must get our hearts broken sometimes. This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, author

Sad Quotes For Life Perspective

80.  “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” Mae West

81. “Remind yourself, it’s okay not to be perfect.” Unknown

82. “Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.” Albert Smith, English author

83. “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.”  Zig Ziglar

84. “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.” Isaac Slade

85. “Good times become good memories; Bad times become good lessons.” Uncle Iroh

86. Sometimes, it’s not the person your miss, but the feelings and moments you had when you were with them.

87. “Stop setting yourself on fire for someone who stays to watch your burn.” Unknown

88. “Sometimes, we do have to be selfless not selfish and think of what’s going to be the best for the ones we love.” Unknown

89. “Never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.” Unknown.

90. “Everybody has gone through something that has changed them in a way that they could never go back to the person they were once before.” Unknown.

Sad Quotes and Sayings about Life and Death

91. “Never. We never lose our loved ones. They accompany us; they don’t disappear from our lives. We are merely in different rooms.” Paulo Coelho, Brazilian writer

92. “People fear death even more than pain. It’s strange that they fear death; Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over.” Jim Morrison

93. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” Dr Seuss

94. “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”  A.A. Milne 

95. “You may be gone from my sight, but you are never gone from my heart.”  A.A. Milne 

96. “Life has more meaning in the face of death.” – Robert Greene

97. “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” – Steve Jobs

98. “Everyone dies but not everyone lives.” – William Wallace, Scottish knight 

99. “The trouble is, you thing you have time.” Buddha

100. “When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.” Cherokee Proverb

101. “Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace.” – Oscar Wilde, writer.

102. “It is not length of life, but depth of life.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist

103. “For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.” Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American writer

104. “Tell your friend that in his death, a part of you dies and goes with him. Wherever he goes, you also go. He will not be alone.” Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher

105. “As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.” Leonardo da Vinci, Italian polymath

106. “It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.” Samuel Johnson, English writer

Sad Quotes about Love To Help you Moving on

107. “In order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer need to feel it.” – Mitch Albom, American writer

108. “Time doesn’t heal emotional pain, you need to learn how to let go.”– Roy T. Bennett, American writer

109. “People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.”–Thich Nhat Hanh

110. “The broken heart. You think you will die, but you keep living, day after day after terrible day.”― Charles Dickens

111. “There comes a time in your life when you have to choose to turn the page, write another book or simply close it.” ― Shannon L. Alder, writer

112. “Sooner or later we’ve all got to let go of our past.”― Dan Brown, writer

113. “One of the best times for figuring out who you are and what you really want out of life? Right after a break-up.”– Mandy Hale, writer

114. “When it comes to love and loss, acceptance is never easy. We can’t make someone see all we have to give, make them love us, or make them change. All we can do is move on and stop wasting time.”– April Mae Monterrosa, author

115. “Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.”― Robert Brault, writer

116. “It was strange, really. A couple of months ago, I had thought I couldn’t live without him. Apparently, I could.”― Gabrielle Zevin, screenwriter

117. “Pain makes you stronger. Tears make you braver. Heartbreak makes you wiser.” Drake, singer

118. “Choose not to be harmed – and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed – and you haven’t been.” Marcus Aurelius

119. “Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” Eckhart Tolle, German self-help author

120. “The truth is that you don’t get closure from someone else. It comes from you. You are the only one with the power to close that chapter and start writing the next one. And that’s incredibly powerful.” Mel Robbins, author.

Which are your favorite sad quotes about life and love?

We hope these sad quotes about life and love were helpful and provided you a way of uplifting and changing your mood for the day.

If you still feel that life seems to be throwing all sorts of problems at you, try to check out our Short Stay Strong quotes, your efforts will eventually pay off.

When you feel better, you may also enjoy our articles on:

Positive Thoughts and quotes, Good Morning Positive Quotes and Amazing Appreciation Thank You Quotes

Hopefully, these sad quotes about life and love have helped lift your spirits and given you ideas on how to cope with sadness.

Did you find these sad quotes useful? Which of the quotes was your favorite?

We would love to hear all about it in the comment section below.

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