遗落 (yí luò) — to lose, to leave behind, to discard (formal/literary)

Definition

遗落 (yíluò) is a formal/literary verb meaning 'to leave behind / to be lost' — it focuses on accidentally leaving something somewhere, not active discarding. Read as one unit; tone is written, not colloquial.

verb
to loseto leave behindto discard (formal/literary)

Examples

  • 遗落。
    Tā zài sàn bù shí bù xiǎo xīn yí luò le yào shi.
    He accidentally lost his keys while taking a walk.
  • 遗落。
    Nà xiē gǔ lǎo de xí sú yǐ jīng yí luò zài le lì shǐ zhōng.
    Those ancient customs have been lost to history.
  • 遗落，。
    Tā yí luò le tóng nián de mèng xiǎng, biàn de lěng mò wú qíng.
    He abandoned his childhood dreams and became cold and indifferent.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

遗yíleave behind
落luòdrop; leave out

Both parts convey dropping or leaving something behind, so the word means to lose or discard.

Characters in this word

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 遺; 遗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòmove
Sound part声符shēngfú
貴
貴guì遺yí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 遺 pairs 辶 (move) with 貴 as a sound part; the simplified 遗 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 遗 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
洛
洛luò落luò
Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

Open 落 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.