Taxonomy of meanings for 失:  

  • shī (OC: lʰiɡ MC: ɕit) 式質切 入 廣韻:【錯也縱也式質切三 】
    • LOSE
      • vadNpassivelost
      • vt(oN)lose the contextually determinate thing
      • vt+prep+Nlose sight of
      • vt+prep+Nfigurativelose out on; fail to get intellectually hold of
      • vtoNcome to lose what one used to own (e.g. a city, an arm); lose control of; fail to get right what one ought to get right (timing); MENG: fail to stick to (the Way), stray from, disregard; lose count of (the date); stray from (the right road); lose contact with (a person)
      • vtoNfail to getfail to get what one ought to be able to get
      • vtoNfigurativelose control of; lose the allegiance of (the people etc); come to lose what one used to abstractly have (like knowledge, control etc)
      • vtoNmiddle voicebe lost
      • vtoNpassivebe lost
      • vtoNpsychlose control of (oneself); be at a (complete) loss
      • vtoNpsychlose (oneself)> fail to achieve one's proper aspirations 失己
      • nabperhaps nab act: lossCH
      • vtoNfigurativecease to have, lose (one's job etc)CH
      • vtoNinchoativederived: cease to be governed/organised byCH
      • vtoNlose the service of (a person)CH
      • vtoNfail to getfail to get hold of, lose out onCH
      • deliberate action> RELEASE
        • vtoNlet go scot free
        • vtoNpassivebe lost; be lost control of; be let go unpunished
      • general, action> FAIL
        • nabeventfailure; real loss
        • vichangeget things wrong that one is trying to get right; miss one's target; go astray
        • vtoNmiss out on N; fail to get N; get (something) wrong; fail in the matter of N; fall foul of; remain ignorant of
        • vt+V[0]fail to (continue to or get to) V
        • vtoNfail to become an NCH
        • vt[oN]processget things wrong.CH
        • vtoNmiddle voicebe wrong; be completely astrayDS
        • passive> DEFEAT
          • vt prep Npassivebe defeated byCH
          • vtoNmiddle voicebe defeatedCH
        • object: duty> OFFEND失法
          • in having what one ought to have> LACK
            • vtoNbe devoid of N, lack in NCH
          • general> MISTAKE
            • nabactinadvertent mistake or transgression; inadvertent mistake (of a superior), insouciance; transgression; faulty point
            • vadNbe wrong through negligence
            • vadVby mistake, through an insouciance
            • vimathematical termCHEMLA 2003: make a mathematical mistake; fail to get the proper mathematical result.
            • viprocessgo wrong by mistake; get things wrong by mistake; make a slip
            • vt(oN)get the contextually determinate thing wrong, be wrong about the contextually determinate thing
            • vt+V[0]make a mistake in VERBing
            • vtoNget (something) wrong, be wrong about; make a mistake concerning; misapply (punishements etc); make a mistake of omission in relation to
            • vttoN1.+N2make a mistake (in a matter N1) with regard (to something or somebody N2) or on N2's side (失之己)
            • vttoN1.+prep+N2make a mistake about (something -often indeterminate - N1) with regard to (a subject N2)
            • vttoN1.+prep+N2mathematical termCHEMLA 2003: to be wrong about N1 by the amount N2; (as action verb:) get something N1 wrong by the amount N2 ZJ 4.18: 失之于微少 "get the result wrong by a small amount".
            • vt[oN]N=indefget something wrongCH
            • vicontinuativebe prone to faultsCH
            • inadvertently ARISE
              • vt0oN{SUBJ}eventoccasionally, with postposed subject: come about: 失火 "fire breaks out"
            • inadvertently> CHANGE
              • neglectfully> IGNORANT
                • vtoNfail to take proper account of; be ignorant of; be incompetent in the use of; fail to be able to make proper use of
                • practical state> UNABLE
                  • un-knowingly> NATURALLY
                    • vt+V(0)cannot help V-ing, come to V, V despite oneself 失笑 vt+V[0]
                • action> NEGLECT
                  • vt+prep+Noverlook, fail to take proper note of
                  • vtoNoverlook, lose sight of; fail to notice; fail to use; fail to take proper note of
                  • vtoNpassivebe wrongfully neglected; be wrongfully set aside
                  • vt+V[0]neglect to V as one should
                  • vtoNfail to act in accordance with; fail to live up toCH
        • shīOFFEND
          • vtoNoffend against (rules of behaviour); fail to conform withCH

        Additional information about 失

        說文解字:

          Criteria
        • MISTAKE

          1. The most current general word for a mistake is probably shī 失 (ant. dé 得 "get things right") refers generally to an inadvertent mistake in action, and normally of minor kind.

          2. Wù 誤 (ant. zhèng 正 "correct") typically refers quite generally to intellectual misapprehension.

          3. Miù 謬 (ant. zhèng 正 "correct") typically refers to an intellectual misapprehension because of complete baselessness of what is being said.

          4. Quē 闕 (ant. wán 完 "completely right") is a polite circumlocution for a superior's inadvertencies or mistakes in action..

          5. Tè 忒 and chà 差 is an archaic word for unreglemented personal or political conduct.

          NB: Cuò 錯 as a standard word for "mistake" is post-Han.

        • FAIL

          1. The current general word for failure is shī 失 (ant. dé 得 "get somewhere").

          2. Qióng 窮 (ant. dá 達 "successful") refers to getting into an impasse, a situation from which there is no way out, or being hopelessly unsuccessful with what one is trying to do.

          3. Bài 敗 (ant. chéng 成 "achieve one's purpose") construes failure as a defeat in some personal or social undertaking or campaign.

          4. Bēng 崩 construes a failure as a momentous disaster.

          5. Fù 負 refers specifically to a defeat versus a victory.

        • WIN

          1. The current general word for winning or gaining the upper hand in any way, including warfare, is shèng 勝 (ant. bài 敗 "be defeated").

          2. Kè 克 (ant. shī 失 "lose in battle") refers to subduing an enemy force by military means, winning against an enemy so as to control him as a result.

          3. Qǔ 取 (ant. fù 負 "fail") refers to conquering a place so as to gain full control over it, and the word usually refers to a victory won easily.

          4. Bá 拔 and jǔ 舉 refers to conquering a place without necessarily keeping full control over it.

          5. Jié 劫 refers specifically to victory gained through ruse or indirect tactics.

        • HOLD

          1. The most current general and neutral word for holding something in any way concrete or abstract is chí 持 (ant. shī 失 "lose hold of").

          2. Zhí 執 is often inchoative "take hold of", and then comes to mean "hold on to, keep holding" as one goes along.

          3. Cāo 操 refers to holding and holding onto something, often taking it along as one goes along, sometimes wielding it as a weapon.

          4. Bǐng 秉 refers to clasping something firmly, often solemnly with both hands, and sometimes several things so as to hold and keep them together and not to let go.

          5. Jiá 挾 refers specifically to holding something under one's armpit, but the word also has some more generalised uses.

          6. Wò 握 and bǎ 把 are rather dramatic words referring to gripping something and not letting go of it.

          7. Gǒng 拱 refers to holding something politely in both hands.

        • PROFIT

          1. The current general word for any kind of material or other profit or advantage is yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "loss").

          2. Lì 利 (1. ant. yì 義 "considerations of rectitude"(!!); 2. ant. hài 害 "damage and loss suffered") refers to material profit.

          3. Dé 得 (ant. shī 失 "lose") refers abstractly to what is achieved as a desired advantage.

          5. Rù 入 (ant. chū 出 "expense") is manifest material gain.

          6. Biàn 便 (ant. zǔ 阻 "hindrance and disadvantage") refers to a convenient adantage.

        • LOSE

          1. The dominant general word for to lose is shī 失 (ant. dé 得 "get") which refers to any disappearance of something which belonged to one in any sense, but the emphasis tends to be on the loss being the result of a mistake rather than mere insouciance.

          2. Yí 遺 (ant. cún 存 "keep in one's possession) is to lose through inadvertency an object that one would like to have or to keep.

          3. Wà2ng 亡 (ant. yǒu 有 "have") refers to the the disappearance or loss of property, what one has control of or owns, not to the loss of e.g. parts of the body.

          4. Sàng 喪 (ant. dé 得 "get") is to lose something or someone dear to one or close to one, including objects of "inalienable possession", either momentarily for a time, or permanently.

          5. Juān 捐 is sometimes used to refer to seeing one's supply of something diminished or to have such a supply disappear.

        • CATCH

          1. The common general word is 獲 (ant. shì 釋 "set free") which can refer to the capturing or obtaining of anything that might conceivably try to escape (for dé 得 "obtain what generally does not try to escape capture" see OBTAIN).

          2. Qǔ 取 (ant. shě 捨 "relinguish, reject") is to take control of by force and applies typically to enemy territories or enemy cities in a conflict. See WIN

          3. Chí 持 (ant. shī 失 "lose hold of") refers to the capturing of non-human prey.

          4. Zhi 執 (refers to the capturing of any human and non-human prey. See also ARREST.

          5. Náng 囊 is specifically to capture by the use of a sack or bag.

          6. Guà 絓 refers to catching something on a hook, typically a hook attached to a string.

          7. Wò 握 is specifically to catch and get hold of something with one's bare hands.

          8. Yú 漁 refers very specifically to the catching and killing of fish. [See ANGLE]

          9. Dé 得 "obtain" can sometimes come to refer to catching what is trying to escape capture.

          10. Bǔ 捕 refers to catching animals typically in a habitual or professional way.

          NB: Zhuō 捉 came to mean "catch" in post-Han times.

        • PERSIST

          1. The current general word for the persistence or continued existence of something is cún 存 (ant. wáng 亡 "cease to exist").

          2. Huó 活 "survive" (ant. sǐ 死 "die") refers specifically to survival of a living creature.

          3. Yí 遺 (ant. shī 失 "get lost") is used to refer to things that continue to exist or are handed down from earlier times.

        • OBTAIN

          1. The current general and highly abstract verb for obtaining any form of possession of anything abstract or concrete is dé 得 (ant. shī 失 "lose inadvertently").

          2. Obtaining something through effort and often with an element of choice involved is qǔ 取 (ant. qì 棄 "choose to reject").

          3. Obtaining something that tries to escape or is otherwise hard to get is huò 獲 (ant. wáng 亡 "miss out on, fail to get").

          4. Getting something which one has had before is fǎn 反.

        • ACHIEVE

          [EASY/DIFFICULT]

          [EXPECTED/UNEXPECTED]

          [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

          [IMPORTANT/UNIMPORTANT]

          [LARGE-SCALE/SMALL-SCALE]

          [MEDIOCRE/ STANDARD/PERFECT]

          [NOUN/VERB]

          [TRANSIENT/LASTING]

          1. The current general word for successful action on one's own behalf or on someone else's behalf is chéng 成 (ant. bài 敗 "fail to achieve; botch up").

          [GENERAL], [LARGE-SCALE]; [VERB]

          2 The current general word for successfully completed action on one's own behalf or in one's own interest is dé 得 "manage to" (ant. shī 失 "fail in, get wrong" and ant.* bù néng 不能 "not manage to").

          [DIFFICULT], [SELFISH], [STANDARD]; [VERB]

          3. Zhì 至 refers to successful action on one's own behalf on a very high level.

          [DIFFICULT], [PERFECT], [SELFISH]; [VERB]

          4. Zhì 致 refers specifically to remarkable successful action, typically on others' behalf.

          [ALTRUISTIC], [DIFFICULT]; [VERB]

          5. Lì 立 refers to successful action resulting in a lasting objective result of one's efforts.

          [ALTRUISTIC], [LARGE-SCALE]; [VERB]

          6. Suì 遂 refers to eventual successful completion of something one has planned.

          [EXPECTED]; [VERB]

          7. Gōng 功 refers to the achievement of something regarded as important to others. See MERIT.

          [ALTRUISTIC], [IMPORTANT]; [NOUN]

          8. Gōng jì 功跡 refers to achievements as leaving a lasting trace on the future.

          Word relations
        • Result: (LOSE)捨 / 舍/DISCARD Shě 捨/舍 (ant. qǔ 取 "pick out and choose") refers to letting go of or rejecting something that one might have chosen to retain or use.
        • Result: (LOSE)舍/ABANDON
        • Ant: (LOSE)執/HOLD Zhí 執 is often inchoative "take hold of", and then comes to mean "hold on to, keep holding" as one goes along.
        • Ant: (LOSE)用/USE The current general word is yòng 用 (ant. fèi 廢 "give up the use of, not use")
        • Ant: (LOSE)奪/TAKE Duó 奪 is to take by force or threat of force.
        • Ant: (LOSE)得/ACHIEVE The current general word for successfully completed action on one's own behalf or in one's own interest is dé 得 "manage to" (ant. shī 失 "fail in, get wrong" and ant.* bù néng 不能 "not manage to"). [DIFFICULT], [SELFISH], [STANDARD]; [VERB]
        • Ant: (FAIL)得/SUCCEED
        • Ant: (LOSE)得/OBTAIN The current general and highly abstract verb for obtaining any form of possession of anything abstract or concrete is dé 得 (ant. shī 失 "lose inadvertently").
        • Object: (LOSE)要/IMPORTANT The most general term for the relative importance and crucial nature of something is yào 要 (ant. xì 細).
        • Object: (NEGLECT)時/MOMENT Shí 時 "time" is commonly used to refer to a moment in time.
        • Object: (NEGLECT)法/METHOD Fǎ 法 is a regular rule-governed procedure governing the proper exercise of a skill.
        • Object: (OFFEND)天心/ATTITUDE
        • Contrast: (MISTAKE)罪/CRIME The current general word for a serious legal transgression is zuì 罪 (ant. gōng 功 "merit"), and the current general word for a minor legal transgression is guò 過 (ant. xiào 效 "positive contribution").
        • Contrast: (MISTAKE)邪/WICKED Xié 邪 (ant. zhèng 正 "straight and in no way wicked") typically involves nuances of sinister evil influences in addition to plain human depravity.
        • Contrast: (NEGLECT)越/NEGLECT
        • Contrast: (MISTAKE)過/CRIME The current general word for a serious legal transgression is zuì 罪 (ant. gōng 功 "merit"), and the current general word for a minor legal transgression is guò 過 (ant. xiào 效 "positive contribution").
        • Assoc: (MISTAKE)誤/MISTAKE
        • Synon: (FAIL)廢/FAIL