失而复得 (shī ér fù dé) — to recover something lost; to get back after losing it

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning 'to regain what was lost.' Often used for relationships, opportunities, or prized objects — it carries a sense of relief and emotional weight, not just simple recovery.

idiom
to recover something lostto get back after losing it

Examples

  • 失而复得，。
    Zhè ge shī ér fù dé de jī huì, tā wú lùn rú hé dōu bú yuàn zài fàng qì.
    He refuses to give up this recovered opportunity no matter what.
  • 失而复得，。
    Kàn dào nà kuài shī ér fù dé de shǒu biǎo, tā jī dòng dé kū le.
    Seeing the watch that had been lost and found, she was so moved she cried.
  • ，失而复得，。
    Jīng guò duō nián wù huì, zhè duì lǎo yǒu zhōng yú shī ér fù dé, chóng guī yú hǎo.
    After years of misunderstanding, these old friends finally reconnected and reconciled.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 復; 复 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 复 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (复习, 恢复) it is 復; in others (复印, 复杂) (答复, 反复) it is 複 or 覆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chìwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù復fù
Same sound today

The traditional form 復 combines 彳, a walking part, with 复, a sound part, to show walking back and forth.

Open 复 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

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