how to say “to lose” in Hebrew

 

לְאַבֵּד, לְהַפְסִיד

 

 
In most cases, English is the one with more words for a single idea. Sometimes, however, Hebrew is.
 
One example is to lose, where Hebrew has two words:
 
לְאַבֵּד  listen and repeat, an active-intensive verb, refers to losing a person or an object, where something that was visible is no longer there.
 
For example:
 
אֵיפֹה אִבַּדְתְּ אֶת הָאַרְנָק שֶׁלָּךְ?
Where did you (a female) lose your wallet?
 
לְהַפְסִיד  listen and repeat, an active-causative verb, refers to losing something intangible, such as a game or non-cash money.
 
For example:
 
הוּא הִפְסִיד הַרְבֵּה כֶּסֶף בַּבּוּרְסָה.
He lost a lot of money in the stock market.
 
להפסיד can also mean to miss something, as does another (active-intensive) colloquial verb, לְפַסְפֵס  listen and repeat:
 
אוֹי לֹא, פִסְפַסְתִּי אֶת הַטִּיסָה!
Oh no, I missed my (the) flight!

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