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失败 (shī bài) — (verb) to fail, to lose, to be defeated; (adjective) failed, unsuccessful

Definition

Used broadly for any kind of failure — exams, plans, experiments, competitions. Compared with 打败/击败 (you actively beat someone), 失败 focuses on the losing side or the outcome going wrong.

verb
to failto loseto be defeated
adjective
failedunsuccessful
Measure word · 次
Easily confused

Examples

  • 失败。
    Tā de kǎo shì shī bài le.
    His exam failed.
  • 失败。
    Zhè cì bǐ sài wǒ men shī bài le.
    We lost this competition.
  • 失败。
    Zhè shì yí cì shī bài de jīng yàn.
    This is a failed experience.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

失shīfail; lose
败bàidefeat

失 means fail or lose and 败 means defeat, so 失败 describes losing or being unsuccessful.

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 →

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 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Success & Failure2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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