Neither English, nor French native but I believe that hélas is the counterpart of “alas”. wiktionary says
From Old French elas, variant of a las, from a (“ah”) + las, from
Latin lassus (“weary”).
I believe thus that English “alas” and French hélas are like brother and sister.
For further examples see here:
http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/h%C3%A9las
I would translate your sentence as:
Hélas, je ne serai pas disponible avant une date ultérieure.
EDIT
1) Based on @aCOSwt’s comment:
They (i.e. alas and hélas) are not exactly as brother and sister. Alas cannot be used as a noun while hélas can be used as a noun (since the XVth century).
2) Based on wp_update-1694464596. Ben Knoble’s comment:
Hélas seems in more current usage in France than alas does in (American) English.
3) Extension of (2); comparison of alas and hélas frequency:
American English (even lower)
French
EDIT 2
In the Greek language there is the world pheû. It means hélas. It would be interesting to see any connection between the etymology of hélas and the pheû.
Leave a comment