打うち損そこなう

う

ち

そ

こ

な

う

Meanings

1

godan verb (-u)

fail to hit; miss

Used when a strike, shot, or blow misses its target. Can be physical (e.g., swinging a bat) or figurative (e.g., failing to achieve an intended effect).

バッターは速そっ球きゅうを打うち損そこなった。
The batter failed to hit the fastball.
彼かれは的まとを撃うち損そこなってしまった。
He missed the target (with a shot).

Written forms

打うち損そこなう
Standard kanji spelling for general 'fail to hit' meaning.
打うちそこなう
Kana-mixed variant; less common but still used.
撃うち損そこなう
Used when the target is shot at (e.g., with a gun or arrow).
撃うちそこなう
Kana-mixed variant of 撃ち損なう; rarely used.

Kanji

打strike, hit, knock
損damage, loss, disadvantage
撃beat, attack, defeat

Similar words

外はずす
外す is a general verb for 'to miss' or 'to remove', while 打ち損なう specifically implies a failure in a striking or shooting action.
当あて損そこなう
当て損なう also means 'to fail to hit', but is less common and often used in contexts like failing to guess correctly.

Etymology

Compound of 打ち (uchi, 'striking') + 損なう (sokonau, 'to fail to do'). The verb 損なう attaches to the continuative form of verbs to express failure or mistake in performing the action.