丧失 meaning in English

sàngshī

to lose; to forfeit

HSK 6verbTraditional 喪失13 strokes

Meaning of 丧失

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

sàngshī

to lose
to forfeit

How to use 丧失

丧失 is formal and usually takes abstract objects like 信心 (confidence), 能力 (ability), 机会 (opportunity), or 记忆 (memory). 他在事故中丧失了记忆。 (Tā zài shìgù zhōng sàngshī le jìyì.) He lost his memory in the accident.

丧 (sàng) appears in words about mourning and loss, and 失 (shī) means to lose. Put two kinds of losing together and you get 丧失, a heavy, serious loss of something you had.

Common mistake: Learners often read 丧 as sāng (first tone), but in 丧失 it is fourth tone, sàng. Sāng is used for funerals, as in 丧事 (sāngshì). Also avoid using 丧失 for everyday objects like keys or a phone. Use 丢 (diū) for those.

丧失 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā完wán全quán丧sàng失shī了le能néng成chéng功gōng的de信xìn心xīn。

He had lost all faith in his ability to succeed.

丧sàng失shī健jiàn康kāng比bǐ丧sàng失shī金jīn钱qián更gèng糟zāo糕gāo。

Losing one's health is worse than losing money.

他tā完wán全quán丧sàng失shī了le责zé任rèn心xīn。

He has completely lost all sense of duty.

错cuò误wù和hé谎huǎng言yán我wǒ都dōu可kě以yǐ忍rěn受shòu，但dàn我wǒ不bù能néng原yuán谅liàng幽yōu默mò感gǎn的de彻chè底dǐ丧sàng失shī。

Mistakes and lying can be worked through, but I cannot stand a complete lack of humour.

看kàn着zhe自zì己jǐ的de房fáng子zi被bèi烧shāo得de精jīng光guāng，他tā顿dùn时shí丧sàng失shī了le理lǐ智zhì。

He lost his reason when he saw his house burn down.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

丧 sàng · mourning · 8 strokes

失 shī · to lose · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 丧失.

失去	shīqù	to lose
消失	xiāoshī	to disappear; to fade away
失败	shībài	to be defeated; to lose
失望	shīwàng	disappointed; to lose hope
失业	shīyè	unemployment; to lose one's job
损失	sǔnshī	loss; damage
失误	shīwù	lapse; mistake
失踪	shīzōng	to be missing; to disappear
失控	shīkòng	to go out of control
沮丧	jǔsàng	dispirited; dejected
迷失	míshī	to get lost; to lose one's bearings
丢失	diūshī	to lose; to misplace

Questions about 丧失

What does 丧失 mean?

丧失 (sàngshī) means "to lose; to forfeit" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 丧失?

丧失 is made of 2 characters: 丧 (8 strokes), 失 (5 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.

Is 丧失 an HSK word?

Yes. 丧失 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 丧失 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 丧失 is written 喪失.

What is the difference between 丧失 and 失去?

Both mean to lose, but 失去 (shīqù) is more neutral and common in speech. 丧失 sounds more formal and serious, and it fits writing, news, and legal or medical contexts.

Can 丧失 mean losing a game or competition?

No. For losing a match or failing at something, use 输 (shū) or 失败 (shībài). 丧失 means losing something you possessed, such as a right, a quality, or an ability.