lose

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 失 means losing; its kun-reading is うしなう and its on-reading is しつ.
• Basic usage: 失う(うしなう) means to lose, while 失敗(しっぱい) means failure.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• What is lost and what fails
  • 失う applies to confidence as well as to an object such as a wallet. 自信を失う必要はない means there is no need to lose confidence.
  • ケーキ作りに失敗した means that someone failed at making a cake. Here 失敗 refers to an unsuccessful outcome of an attempted activity.