Lose in different languages

Lose in Different Languages

Discover 'Lose' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'lose' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, denoting the absence or departure of something cherished or desired. Its cultural importance is evident in various idiomatic expressions, such as 'lose face' or 'lose one's mind,' which have permeated our languages and showcased our shared human experiences.

Moreover, understanding the translation of 'lose' in different languages can shed light on cultural nuances and historical contexts. For instance, the German word 'verlieren' stems from an Old High German term meaning 'to wander,' reflecting a rich linguistic heritage. Meanwhile, the Chinese translation '失去' (shīqù) combines characters representing 'lose' and 'possess,' emphasizing the relinquishment of ownership.

As global citizens, we may find ourselves in situations where knowing the word 'lose' in another language is crucial. Whether you're traveling, conducting international business, or simply exploring the world of linguistics, the ability to express this concept can foster understanding and connection.

Here are some translations of 'lose' in various languages:

Lose


Lose in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansverloor
"Verloor" is derived from the Middle Dutch "verloren". It also means "to waste" or "to dissipate".
Amharicማጣት
The verb ''ማጣት'' can also mean ''to waste'', as opposed to ''መጥፋት'', which denotes an irreversible and definite state of ''not having anymore''.
Hausarasa
Hausa "rasa" also means "to be lost" or "to be destroyed".
Igboida
The Igbo word
Malagasyvery
The word "very" in Malagasy also comes from the Arabic word "varah", which means "to avoid" or "to keep away from".
Nyanja (Chichewa)kutaya
"Kutaya" can also mean to throw away, reject, or discard something.
Shonakurasikirwa
The word "kurasikirwa" in Shona can also mean "to be separated from someone or something due to death or distance."
Somalilumiso
The term "lumiso" in Somali, meaning "to lose," also shares a root with "lum", meaning "to be destroyed, spoiled, or ruined."
Sesotholahleheloa
The term 'lahleheloa' is a metaphor derived from a hunting context, where it referred to the situation when a pack of dogs lose track of their prey.
Swahilikupoteza
In Swahili, the verb 'kupoteza' originally referred to losing physical objects but has extended to encompass metaphorical meanings like losing control or hope.
Xhosaphulukana
The word 'phulukana' is also used to describe the act of slipping past someone unnoticed.
Yorubapadanu
The word "padanu" can also mean "to be lost" or "to disappear."
Zuluulahlekelwe
The Zulu word "ulahlekelwe" can also mean "to be defeated", "to suffer a loss", or "to be deprived of something."
Bambaraka tunun
Ewebu
Kinyarwandagutakaza
Lingalakopola
Lugandaokusemba
Sepedilahlegelwa
Twi (Akan)hwere

Lose in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicتخسر
The word "تخسر" comes from the root word "خسر" which means "to lose, to fail, to be deprived of."
Hebrewלאבד
The Hebrew word "לאבד" can also mean "to lead astray" or "to confuse."
Pashtoله لاسه ورکول
The word "له لاسه ورکول" ("lose") in Pashto stems from the Old Persian "varsk-", meaning "to tear" or "to separate".
Arabicتخسر
The word "تخسر" comes from the root word "خسر" which means "to lose, to fail, to be deprived of."

Lose in Western European Languages

Albanianhumb
The word "humb" in Albanian comes from the Proto-Albanian term *humbja, meaning both "loss" and "death, demise, ruin".
Basquegaldu
"Galdu" can also mean "to be defeated" in the sense of losing a battle or game.
Catalanperdre
The Catalan word "perdre" also means "to spend", reflecting the idea that losing something involves spending time, effort, or resources on it.
Croatianizgubiti
The Croatian verb 'izgubiti' is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *gubiti, which also means 'to destroy' or 'to ruin'.
Danishtabe
The word "tabe" in Danish also means "to waste away" or "to perish".
Dutchverliezen
In Middle Dutch 'verliezen' meant 'to fail' or 'to be defeated'.
Englishlose
The word "lose" derives from the Old English word "losian," meaning "to be lost" or "to perish."
Frenchperdre
The word "perdre" in French is etymologically linked to the word "parere", which means "beget" or "bring forth".
Frisianferlieze
In the Frisian language, the verb "ferlieze" also has the meaning "to be deprived of something".
Galicianperder
The word "perder" in Galician can also mean "waste" or "miss".
Germanverlieren
The German word "verlieren" can also be used in the sense of losing something non-physical (e.g. memory).
Icelandictapa
The word "tapa" in Icelandic can also mean "shed" or "drop".
Irishchailleadh
The Irish word 'chailleadh' (meaning 'lose') may be derived from 'caill' ('lose') or 'call' ('loss')
Italianperdere
The verb "perdere" can also mean "to ruin" or "to corrupt," as in moral, physical, or legal terms.
Luxembourgishverléieren
Maltesetitlef
The Maltese 'titlef' is derived from the Semitic root 'ț-l-f', also found in Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic and Ethiopic languages, and the noun form 'telif' means 'spoil' or 'loss', while the verb form 'itlef', from which the Maltese 'itlef' is derived, means 'to spoil', 'to lose', 'to damage', 'to destroy' or 'to waste'.
Norwegianå tape
The word can be traced back to the Middle Ages and the verb 'at yppa' which means 'to reveal', 'to disclose', or 'to divulge'.
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)perder
In Brazilian Portuguese, perder can also mean to miss (someone or something).
Scots Gaelicchailleadh
The word "chailleadh" can also be used to refer to damage, harm, or misfortune, reflecting the wider concept of loss.
Spanishperder
The Spanish verb 'perder' is derived from the Latin word 'perdere', which means 'to destroy' or 'to ruin'.
Swedishförlora
The word "förlora" is derived from the Old Norse word "forlǫsa", meaning "to release" or "to free."
Welshcolli
The Welsh word 'colli' can also mean 'let go', 'release', or 'permit'.

Lose in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianпрайграць
The word "прайграць" in Belarusian has Germanic origins, likely deriving from the Old High German "ferlegan," meaning "to lay down" or "to fail."
Bosnianizgubiti
The verb "izgubiti" can also mean "to waste" or "to be lost" in a figurative sense.
Bulgarianзагуби
In Bulgarian, "загуби" can also refer to a personal loss, such as the death of a loved one.
Czechprohrát
The Czech word “prohrát” is related to the word “hrát,” which means “to gamble” or “to play.”
Estoniankaotama
"kaotada" likely derives from Proto-Indo-European "kewt-" ("to split apart, to fall or destroy")
Finnishmenettää
"Menettää" is a verb in Finnish formed from "mene- " (meaning "to go" or "to pass") and "-ttää" (meaning "to cause").
Hungarianelveszít
The word "elveszít" derives from an Old Hungarian word that originally meant "separate".
Latvianzaudēt
The word "zaudēt" in Latvian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*lewdh-," which also means "to be deprived of, to lose."
Lithuanianpralaimėti
The Lithuanian word "pralaimėti" also means "to be defeated" or "to fail".
Macedonianизгуби
The Macedonian verb изгуби ("izgubi") derives from the Proto-Slavic з-губ-и- ("z-gub-") which has the meaning of "getting rid of" and is related to за-гин-а ("z-agina"), meaning "perish, be destroyed" and гану ("ganu"), meaning "to chase, drive away".
Polishstracić
"Stracić" originates from the Proto-Slavic "*sterti", meaning "to wipe out, or erase".
Romanianpierde
The Romanian word "pierde" shares an etymological root with the Latin word "perdere," meaning to destroy or be lost.
Russianпроиграть
"Проиграть" (lose) in Russian initially meant "to play on a musical instrument" (or "in musical competition"); now it almost exclusively has only the meaning of "to be defeated" in competition or games.
Serbianизгубити
The word "изгубити" can also mean "to forget" or "to misplace."
Slovakprehrať
Besides the primary meaning "to lose", the word "prehrať" (or "prehrávať") in Slovak also means "to play back" audio or video, or "to record" (audio).
Slovenianizgubiti
"Izgubiti" is derived from the Slavic verb "gubiti" and it used to mean "to perish".
Ukrainianгубити
The word "губити" also means "destroy" or "ruin" in Ukrainian.

Lose in South Asian Languages

Bengaliহারান
The word "হারান" (haran) in Bengali derives from the Sanskrit word "হরন" (harana), meaning "to take away," and is cognate with the English word "harass."
Gujaratiગુમાવો
The Gujarati word "ગુમાવો" also means "to miss" or "to lose sight of".
Hindiखोना
The Hindi word "खोना" can also mean "to hide" or "to be lost in thought".
Kannadaಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಿ
Malayalamനഷ്ടപ്പെടുക
Marathiगमावणे
The word "गमावणे" in Marathi is closely related to the Sanskrit word "गम" meaning "to go, to depart, to disappear."
Nepaliहराउनु
The word "हराउनु" originally meant "to fall away from" or "to be separated", but now primarily means "to lose".
Punjabiਹਾਰੋ
The word "हारो" (lose) in Punjabi is also used to refer to a game played with a spinning top.
Sinhala (Sinhalese)අහිමි
The Sinhalese word "අහිමි" (ahimi) derives from the Sanskrit word "ahimana", meaning "to let go" or "to abandon".
Tamilஇழக்க
The Tamil word 'இழக்க' derives from the Proto-Dravidian root *il- 'to drop, pour out, fall'.
Teluguకోల్పోతారు
The word "కోల్పోతారు" can also refer to "suffering a loss" or "being deprived of something."
Urduکھو جانا

Lose in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)失去
The Chinese word 失 ("lose") originally meant "to die" or "to destroy".
Chinese (Traditional)失去
The character 失去 derives from two other characters, 失 (失落), meaning “to fall or let drop,” and 去 (離開), meaning “to go or leave.”
Japanese失う
"失う" is also used to describe the death of a loved one or the loss of consciousness.
Korean잃다
"잃다" also means "to come out from hiding".
Mongolianалдах
The Mongolian word "алдах" (lose) comes from the same Proto-Mongolic root as the word "альц" (forget).
Myanmar (Burmese)အရှုံး

Lose in South East Asian Languages

Indonesiankalah
Kalah, a homonym of 'kalah,' means a 'field' or a 'meadow'.
Javanesekalah
The word "kalah" in Javanese has cognates in other Austronesian languages, including "kalag" (to be defeated) in Filipino and "kalah" (to lose) in Malay.
Khmerចាញ់
The word "ចាញ់" can also mean "to come second" or "to be behind" in a competition or race.
Laoສູນເສຍ
The word "ສູນເສຍ" is also used in a figurative sense to describe a loss of power, prestige, or status.
Malaykalah
Kalah is also a slang word for "tired", possibly originating from the sensation of exhaustion after losing a competition
Thaiแพ้
In the past, “แพ้” meant “to make a mistake”, “to do the wrong thing”, and “to be wrong”.
Vietnamesethua
"Thua" also means "to concede" or "admit defeat".
Filipino (Tagalog)matalo

Lose in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijaniitirmək
The word "itirmək" also means "to send" or "to let go" in Azerbaijani.
Kazakhжоғалту
The word "жоғалту" can also refer to "missing" or "loss" in a broader sense.
Kyrgyzжоготуу
The Kyrgyz word “жоготуу” is derived from a Proto-Turkic word and can also mean "to be ruined," "to be defeated," or "to be gone."
Tajikгум кардан
The word "гум кардан" can also mean "to break".
Turkmenýitirmek
Uzbekyo'qotish
Uzbek "yo'qotish" is also used to describe losing one's way, mind, or memory.
Uyghurيوقىتىش

Lose in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianeo
Eo can also mean to vanish, and is related to the word "hi'o" (to hide).
Maoringaro
**Ngāro** is also used to describe something becoming hidden, invisible, or lost.
Samoanleiloa
Leiloa is borrowed from the English word "lose" and is pronounced as "leh-loh-ah" in Samoan.
Tagalog (Filipino)talo
"Talo" can also mean "defeat" or "failure" in a more general sense.

Lose in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarachhaqhayaña
Guaranitakykue

Lose in International Languages

Esperantoperdi
Perdi is cognate with the French perdre; both words ultimately trace back to the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)perd-, "to destroy".
Latinperdet
The word "perdet" also means "destroy" in Latin.

Lose in Others Languages

Greekχάνω
The word also denotes a relaxation or opening, as in 'χαίνω' (to yawn).
Hmongplam
The word "plam" can also mean "miss" or "lack" in Hmong.
Kurdishwindakirin
The Kurdish word "windakirin" also means "to be left behind" or "to be unable to keep up"
Turkishkaybetmek
Kaybetmek also comes from Kaymak which means 'cream' referring to when cream rises to the top and the milk below is the 'lost part'.
Xhosaphulukana
The word 'phulukana' is also used to describe the act of slipping past someone unnoticed.
Yiddishפאַרלירן
"פאַרלירן" is cognate with the German "verlieren" and is also used figuratively to mean "to miss out on an opportunity".
Zuluulahlekelwe
The Zulu word "ulahlekelwe" can also mean "to be defeated", "to suffer a loss", or "to be deprived of something."
Assameseহৰা
Aymarachhaqhayaña
Bhojpuriहेराइल
Dhivehiގެއްލުން
Dogriढिल्ला
Filipino (Tagalog)matalo
Guaranitakykue
Ilocanonapukaw
Kriodɔn lɔs
Kurdish (Sorani)لەدەستدا
Maithiliनुकसान
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯃꯥꯡꯖꯕ
Mizohloh
Oromodhabuu
Odia (Oriya)ହାରିଯାଅ |
Quechuachinkachiy
Sanskritपराजयते
Tatarюгалту
Tigrinyaምስኣን
Tsongalahlekeriwa

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