Meaning

Primary

To Lose

Alternatives

To Part With, To Lose Something, To Part With Something

Word Type

transitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

The kanji portion means fault, so you would think the verb version is "to fault." It's a little different, though. Think of it this way, if you "fault" something, you're messing up. What's a great way to mess up? By losing something. That's why this word means to lose.

Pretend like you are supposed to hold on to someone's wedding ring. You make the biggest fault of all. You lose it. Ouch.

Reading

うしなう
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

So how did you lose the wedding ring anyway? Well... it was eaten by a cow. The now (うし + なう) has to have it surgically removed. What a mess!

Context

Pattern of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 力を失う

    to lose strength

    気を失う

    to lose consciousness

    全てを失う

    to lose everything

Context Sentences

そんなにジャンプすると体力を失うよ。

If you jump that much, you would lose your physical strength.

今年は、ギャンブルでたくさんのお金を失った。

This year, I lost a lot of money from gambling.

父を失った日から、よく空を見るようになりました。

From the day I lost my father, I started looking at the sky a lot.

Kanji Composition