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べた負け (betamake) Japanese meaning: complete defeat | Kotomora

べた負まけ

Meanings

1

complete defeat; losing all matches

Used in competitive contexts (sports, games, gambling) to describe a total loss or a clean sweep of losses.

今日きょうの試し合あいはべた負まけだった。
Today's match was a complete defeat.
彼かれはポーカーでべた負まけした。
He lost all his money in poker.

Kanji

負defeat, negative, -

Related words

完かん敗ぱい
完敗 is a more formal term for a complete defeat, while べた負け is colloquial and often implies a streak of losses.
全ぜん敗ぱい
全敗 means losing every match in a series, similar to べた負け but more neutral in tone.

Etymology

The prefix べた (beta) is an intensifier meaning 'completely' or 'thoroughly', combined with 負け (make, 'defeat'). The exact origin of べた is uncertain, but it appears in other colloquial compounds like べた褒め (beta-home, 'lavish praise').