Translation guide
The English phrasal verb "miss out" generally means to fail to participate in or enjoy an opportunity, event, or experience. It can also mean to accidentally omit something. This guide covers both core meanings with natural Japanese equivalents.
Expressing that someone did not get to do or enjoy something good, often with a sense of regret or warning.
Describing a situation where something or someone is unintentionally not included.
Means 'to omit' or 'leave out'. Often used when skipping an item in a list or a step in a process.
The English 'miss out' cannot be directly translated word-for-word into Japanese. Avoid literal combinations like 逃す外 (のがすそと) or ミスアウト. Use the verb phrases above depending on context.
Both mean 'miss a chance', but ～損ねる focuses on personal failure to do something, while ～逃す emphasizes letting an opportunity slip away. ～損ねる attaches to verbs, ～逃す often takes nouns like チャンス.
missed buying it vs missed the chance
セールで買い損ねた。
I missed out on buying it during the sale.
Literally 'let escape', used for missing a chance or opportunity. Often used with nouns like チャンス (chance) or 機会 (opportunity).
I missed out on the chance.
I ended up missing out on a perfect opportunity.
Means 'ended up not doing' and implies a missed experience. Often carries a nuance of regret.
In the end, I missed out on seeing the fireworks.
Literally 'miss the ride', used metaphorically for missing a trend or movement. Common in business or tech contexts.
We missed out on the AI boom.
I accidentally missed out his name from the list.
Literally 'drop', but can mean 'omit' or 'leave out' in contexts like typing or printing.
When I printed it, one line was missed out.
Means 'forget to put in', used when you accidentally omit something from a container, document, etc.
I missed out putting a stamp on the envelope.