It sucks to get sick. That’s pretty obvious. It goes without saying. Nobody wants to get sick. However, the one bright side that might be seen after getting sick is how nice people start to be to you. You will end up getting quite a few people saying “get well soon”. Which is always nice to hear, but what do you say back?
Formal replies to “Get well soon”
Sometimes when you get told “get well soon” it would behoove you to give a formal response.
1. Thank you.
It’s a good response. Just a simple thank you in response to “get well soon” is perfectly acceptable and probably exactly what is expected from you to say. Sometimes it is best to keep it quick and simple.
2. Thank you. I appreciate it.
This is a slightly better formal response to give compared to just “thank you.” It has all the benefits of saying just “thank you”, with how it is perfectly acceptable and expected to say in response, with the added benefit of letting the other person know that you appreciate the “get well soon.”
3. Thank you for your concern
This is a good response to give to “get well soon” because you are not only thanking the person who said it to you but also gives thanks to them specifically for their concern. Which is a very good thing to do in a formal setting.
4. Thank you, I’m starting to feel better already.
This is a good response in a formal setting because you are thanking the other person for saying “get well soon” and also are putting their worried mind at ease by implying that you won’t be sick for too much longer.
5. Thank you, I’ll be back to work in no time.
This is a good response in a formal setting because you are thanking the other person for saying “get well soon” and also are putting their worried mind at ease by implying that you won’t be sick for too much longer and that even while sick you are concerned about making sure your work gets done. A quality that a boss will probably like to see.
Friendly replies to “Get well soon”
When a friend says to you “get well soon” you have some more leeway to give a funny or sarcastic response.
6. Will do.
This is a good friendly response because it implies that you are taking the other person’s suggestion of getting well soon to heart and will follow that suggestion to the best of your abilities.
7. I’m on it.
This is a good friendly response to give to “get well soon” because it implies that you are taking the other person’s suggestion of getting well soon as some sort of command or order and will follow that order to the best of your abilities like you would any other order.
8. Well, I can’t get any worse.
This is a funny and sarcastic response to give to a friend who just told you “get well soon.” This response works because it lets the other person know how terribly you feel but you are doing it in a way that will make them chuckle instead of in a way that will scare them and make them concerned for your well-being.
9. As soon as I can.
This is a good friendly response to give to someone that told you to “get well soon” because it implies that you are taking the other person’s suggestion of getting well soon as a genuine suggestion where you will try to the best of your abilities to get better as soon as you can.
10. Thank you for reminding me.
This is a funny and sarcastic response to give to a friend who told you “get well soon” because it implies that trying to get better was an option that you had completely forgotten about and need to be reminded of. The humor here comes from the fact that obviously you already want to get well soon and someone telling you “get well soon” doesn’t exactly help.
11. If you really cared about me, you would say “get well now”
This is a funny and sarcastic response because you are joking around with the person about how they only want you to get well soon when if they really cared about you they would suggest getting well immediately so that you were not unwell anymore.
12. Thanks, but I have other plans.
This is a funny and sarcastic response to give to a friend who told you to “get well soon” because first, it does thank the person but then makes a funny joke about how you don’t actually plan on getting well soon because you have other things you want to do first.
13. I’ll try
This is a good friendly response to give to “get well soon” because it implies that you are taking the other person’s suggestion of getting well soon as some sort of command or order and will follow that order to the best of your abilities like you would anything else.
14. On it.
This is a good friendly response to give to “get well soon” because it implies that you are taking the other person’s suggestion of getting well soon as some sort of command or order and will follow that order to the best of your abilities like you would any other order. This response will work even better if after saying it you give the person who told you to “get well soon” a finger gun motion.
15. Don’t rush me.
This is a funny and sarcastic response to give to a friend who told you to “get well soon” because first, it does thank the person but then makes a funny joke about how you are taking your time in getting better and don’t want anyone to rush you.
16. *grunt*
Just simply giving a grunt to your friend’s “get well soon” is a quick and easy way to tell them that you acknowledge the good wish while also letting them know how terribly you feel on the inside.
17. You too.
This is a funny response to give to “get well soon” because clearly, you are the one that needs to get better not the other person so saying it as a response makes no sense.
18. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?
This is a funny response because it implies that the idea of getting well soon is some far away and hard to achieve concept.
19. Nah, I kind of like the attention.
This is a funny response to give to “get well soon” because it implies that you actually do not want to get better at all. After all, you enjoy all the attention you are getting for being sick.
20. Don’t tell me what to do.
This is a funny response to give to a friend who told you to “get well soon” because it makes a joke of their good wish by pretending that it was some sort of mean and angry command from that that you will be stubbornly ignoring.
21. Then what will the doctor do?
This is a good sarcastic response to give to “get well soon” because it makes a joke of how if you just got well soon thanks to the wish of the other person then that would leave the doctor treating you with nothing to do. This response only works if you have been hospitalized.
22. Oh, that’s a good idea!
This is a funny and sarcastic response to give to a friend who told you “get well soon” because it implies that you never even considered that getting well soon was an option you had. The humor here comes from the fact that obviously you already want to get well soon and someone telling you “get well soon” doesn’t exactly help.
23. Why? What’s wrong with me?
This is a funny response to give to “get well soon” because it makes a joke about not even knowing that you were unwell, to begin with.
24. I’m a bit busy. Can I get better next week instead?
This is a funny response to give because it makes a joke about how you do not have the time to get well soon and will instead try to get well the following week. The humor here comes from that you actually have no control over when you will get better and if you did, obviously, you would get well soon.
25. Why do people keep saying that to me?
This is a funny response to give to “get well soon” because it makes a joke about you have no idea why people would want you to be getting better.
26. Why start now?
This response is a funny one to give to friends because it implies that you have always felt terrible so why even bother trying to get well soon.
27. Any other words of wisdom?
This is a funny and sarcastic response to give to a friend who told you “get well soon” because it implies that you never even considered that getting well soon was an option you had and them suggesting it makes them an incredibly smart person in your eyes. The humor here comes from the fact that obviously you already want to get well soon and someone telling you “get well soon” doesn’t exactly help.
Why it’s important to acknowledge someone showing empathy
It’s important to acknowledge someone showing empathy because it’s just a nice and polite thing to do in society. When someone goes out of their way to speak to you and show you empathy it’s just a nice thing to do to give them some respect in return and acknowledge it. Whether you give them a formal response with gratitude or a friendly response filled with humor and sarcasm is completely up to you, but you should still acknowledge it.
You may also like: 11 Better Ways To Say “Get Well Soon”
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
