In Persian we have an idiom literally meaning "I wish you were there too" or "it was good if you were there also".
For example, if you had been in party and a friend had not been there you may say to him/her "I wish you were there too". Is there any idiom or expression in English with the same meaning?
The gloss of the expression is:
Your place was empty.
That's a really nice idiom, I wish we had something similar. I guess we could all agree to start using it, maybe it would catch on!
As far as I know there is no direct equivalent in English.
The two closest I can think of are:
A person who is on holiday somewhere nice might say to a friend 'I wish you were here' although it's a bit of a cliché, often thought of as a nothing phrase to write on a post card
On seeing a friend after an event you might say something like
"we missed you at the party last night"
But neither really captures the sentiment of your Persian idiom I think.
We usually say, "I wish you had been there" or "You should have been there" or "You would have liked the party" (or whatever event).
We do sometimes use a phrase very similar to what you mention: "Fred's seat was empty." But this usually means that he has died or could not be present because of some great tragedy, and not just that he missed a party because he was busy somewhere else.
I would say:
I wish you could have been at the party.
The translation does not seem to work, because the "place" (where the party was) was not really empty, just one less person there. So the focus needs to be on "you" (the friend), and not the location.
The closest thing I can think of is the expression:
It wasn't the same without you.
But this is generally used in the context of events that the person is usually at, as in
I guess we'll gonna keep having our weekly poker night after you move to New York for your new job, but it just won't be the same without you.
English speakers might say. "You were sorely missed." Or "Your absence was keenly felt."
