惜せき敗はい

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

narrow defeat; regrettable loss

Used for a close loss in a competition, match, or election, often with a sense of disappointment. Common in sports and political reporting.

• 決けっ勝しょう戦せんで惜せき敗はいしたが、選せん手しゅたちはよく頑がん張ばった。

  We lost by a narrow margin in the final, but the players gave it their all.

• 選せん挙きょの結けっ果か、彼かれはわずか200票ぴょう差さで惜せき敗はいした。

  In the election results, he suffered a narrow defeat by just 200 votes.