Translation guide
How to express experiencing a loss in Japanese, covering financial, competitive, and personal contexts.
To express that a person, company, or entity has lost money or assets.
Formal and common in business contexts. Literally 'to incur a loss'.
会社は大きな損失を被った。
The company suffered a big loss.
Casual and widely used for any kind of monetary loss or disadvantage.
株で損をした。
I lost money on stocks.
Refers to being in the red, i.e., operating at a deficit. Often used as a noun.
Used for damages or losses from accidents, disasters, etc. More about harm than pure financial loss.
台風で農作物が損害を被った。
The crops suffered damage from the typhoon.
To express that someone lost a match, contest, or fight.
The standard verb for losing a game, match, or fight.
試合に負けた。
We lost the match.
Very formal/literary expression for suffering a defeat. Used in news or dramatic contexts.
軍は決定的な敗北を喫した。
The army suffered a decisive defeat.
To express the pain of losing someone or something dear.
General verb for losing something or someone important. Can be used for death, trust, opportunities, etc.
彼は事故で家族を失った。
He lost his family in an accident.
Specifically for losing someone to death. More empathetic than 失う.
A noun meaning 'sense of loss'. Used in psychological or emotional contexts.
彼は深い喪失感に苦しんでいる。
He is suffering from a deep sense of loss.
To express that something has caused a loss of advantage, time, or opportunity.
Also used for non-monetary disadvantages, like wasting time or missing out.
あの店で買うと損をするよ。
You'll lose out if you buy at that store.
Means 'not worth it' or 'the loss outweighs the gain'. Used when effort or cost doesn't pay off.
この仕事は割に合わない。
This job isn't worth the trouble.
失う (ushinau) is a broad verb for losing anything (objects, trust, people). 亡くす (nakusu) is specifically for losing someone to death and carries a more emotional tone. Use 亡くす when speaking about bereavement.
The English phrase 'suffer a loss' is often translated literally as 損失を苦しむ, but this is unnatural. Use the appropriate phrase for the context: 損失を被る for financial loss, 負ける for games, 失う for personal loss.
We're in the red this month.
She lost her mother when she was young.