Tiếc quá!

What a shame!

Breakdown of Tiếc quá!

• tiếc quá: what a shame!

Questions & Answers about Tiếc quá!

What does tiếc mean by itself?

Tiếc is a very common Vietnamese word that expresses a feeling like:

• to regret
• to feel it’s a pity
• to feel sorry that something was missed, lost, or didn’t happen

Depending on context, it can correspond to English expressions like:

• What a pity
• That’s a shame
• I regret it
• Too bad

So in Tiếc quá!, the core feeling comes from tiếc.

What does quá mean here?

In this sentence, quá adds emphasis. It makes the feeling stronger.

So:

• Tiếc! = What a pity! / That’s a shame!
• Tiếc quá! = Such a pity! / What a shame! / I regret it so much!

Here, quá is not usually understood literally as too in the English sense. It often works more like:

• so
• very
• really

when expressing emotion.

Why is the sentence so short? Is something missing?

Nothing is missing. Vietnamese often leaves out the subject when it is obvious or unimportant.

So Tiếc quá! is a complete natural exclamation. It does not need , , or .