(someone) passed away

Use the phrasal verb "pass away" to talk about someone dying in a polite way.

This is rude:

I'm so sorry to hear that your father died.

This is much more acceptable:

I'm so sorry to hear that your father passed away.

If you're talking about someone with no connection to you or to your listener, you can say that they "died":

Elvis Presley died in 1977.

This phrase appears in these lessons: