負ける To Lose

Meaning

Primary

To Lose

Alternative

To Be Defeated

Word Type

intransitive verb, ichidan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means lose so the verb vocab version means to lose.

Reading

まける

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

You lose your tournament/soccer game/whatever (you decide something applicable to you). You're sad about this. Who's there to comfort you? Your Ma (ま). She's a nice lady.

Context

Common Word Combinations

• 〜で負ける

  じゃんけんで負ける

  to lose at rock-paper-scissors

  ２対０で負ける

  to lose two to zero

  プレーオフで負ける

  to lose in the playoffs

• 〜に負ける

  自分に負ける

  to lose to oneself

  ケンカに負ける

  to lose a fight

  人に負ける

  to lose to people, to be outdone by other people

Context Sentences

兄は、いつも負けることを不安に思っています。

My brother is always worried about losing.

体は負けても、心は負けないで。

Even if you lose with your body, don't lose with your heart.

「今夜は、どこのレストランにする？」「あなたが決めてよ。私はじゃんけんに負けたんだから。」

"Where do you want to eat tonight?" "It’s your call. I lost in rock-paper-scissors."

Kanji Composition

1. 負

   ふ Lose