失 shī — to lose; to miss; to fail
我把钥匙丢失了。Wǒ bǎ yào shi diū shī le.I lost my keys.
Common words: 失去 (shī qù)、消失 (xiāo shī)、失败 (shī bài)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to lose"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to lose", including 失 (shī), 遗 (yí), 损 (sǔn), 输 (shū), 丢 (diū). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to lose" covers 5 different Chinese characters — 失 (shī), 遗 (yí), 损 (sǔn), 输 (shū), 丢 (diū) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 5 characters do not share a sound — their readings span shī, yí, sǔn, shū, diū — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 失 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 失 shīto lose; to miss; to failUseful words: 失去, 消失
- 遗 yíto lose; to leave behindUseful words: 遗产, 遗传
- 损 sǔnto damage; injure; to lose; to harmUseful words: 损失, 损害
- 输 shūto transport; to loseUseful words: 运输, 输入
- 丢 diūto lose; to put aside; to throwUseful words: 丢失, 丢人
Common words for these 5 "to lose" characters
Anchor each of these 5 characters in a word you can picture — start with 失 (shī) — so "to lose" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
失去shī qùto lose消失xiāo shīto disappear; to fade away失败shī bàito be defeated; to lose; to fail (e.g. experiments); failure遗产yí chǎnheritage; legacy; inheritance; bequest遗传yí chuánheredity; to inherit (a trait); to pass on (to one's offspring)遗憾yí hànregret; to regret; to be sorry that损失sǔn shīloss; damage; to lose; to suffer damage损害sǔn hàiharm; to damage; to impair损伤sǔn shāngto harm; to damage; to injure; impairment运输yùn shūto transport; to carry; transportation
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 5 ways to say "to lose".
遗 yí — to lose; to leave behind
长城是中国宝贵的文化遗产。Cháng chéng shì Zhōng guó bǎo guì de wén huà yí chǎn.The Great Wall is a precious cultural heritage of China.
Common words: 遗产 (yí chǎn)、遗传 (yí chuán)、遗憾 (yí hàn)
损 sǔn — to damage; injure; to lose; to harm
大风损坏了不少树木。Dà fēng sǔn huài le bù shǎo shù mù.The strong wind damaged many trees.
Common words: 损失 (sǔn shī)、损害 (sǔn hài)、损伤 (sǔn shāng)
输 shū — to transport; to lose
这场比赛我们虽然输了，但很努力。Zhè chǎng bǐ sài wǒ men suī rán shū le, dàn hěn nǔ lì.Although we lost this match, we tried very hard.
Common words: 运输 (yùn shū)、输入 (shū rù)、输出 (shū chū)
丢 diū — to lose; to put aside; to throw
我不小心把车票丢了。Wǒ bù xiǎo xīn bǎ chē piào diū le.I accidentally lost my ticket.
Common words: 丢失 (diū shī)、丢人 (diū rén)、丢三落四 (diū sān là sì)
All 5 characters
Open 失、遗、损 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.