Definitions
(verb)
to lose; to miss
(verb)
to fail
Etymology
Depicts a person with their hair loose. Based on the original meaning "leisure; carefree", now written as 佚. The meaning later shifted to "lose" and "fail".
About
The character "失" finds its origins in early graphical conceptions designed to represent the act of an object slipping from one's grasp, solidifying its core association with loss. Its structure, often analyzed as combining a element suggesting a hand or person with a stroke indicating separation, visually perpetuates this notion of something falling away. Over time, the meaning extended from denoting physical loss to encompassing abstract failures, errors, and deviations, as evidenced by its role in numerous linguistic compounds that convey these related ideas of mishap or absence.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我失去了我的笔。
这次比赛我们失败了。
他对结果感到失望。
她失恋后非常伤心。
失业率持续上升。
他在关键时刻失手了。
由于错误，他失去了机会。
在公众面前失态会损害形象。