How to say "loser" in Japanese

• 敗者はいしゃCommon
  nounThe neutral sense: a person or side that has lost a match, election, war, or competition. It carries no emotional judgment, so it is the word for the losing party in factual or formal descriptions.
  敗者はいしゃたちも「賞しょう」を受うけたのです。つまり、勝かったチームにたたきのめされたのでした。↗

  The losers received a "prize" too: They were beaten up by the winning team!
• 負け犬まけいぬCommon
  nounA disparaging sense: someone defeated or unsuccessful in life, not just a single contest; the underdog or failure who seems resigned to losing. Use it only with a contemptuous or self-deprecating nuance.
  負け犬まけいぬになるわけにはいかない。↗

  I can't stand getting beaten.
• くずJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounThe insulting sense: scum or trash, a person regarded as worthless, including someone who fails at life. It is a direct insult rather than a neutral label, so it is rarely the word you want for an ordinary loser.

Use 敗者 for a neutral loser of a contest or war, 「負け犬」 for a pessimistic, defeated-in-life underdog, and 「くず」 only as an insulting slur for a worthless person.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 敗者はいしゃloser
• 負け犬まけいぬloser
• 失敗者しっぱいしゃloser
• 敗北者はいぼくしゃloser
• ルーザーloser
• 毒男どくおlonely heart
• がしんたれgood-for-nothing
• ドサンピンunderling
• 意気地なしいくじなしcoward
• ずくなしbum
• 根性なしこんじょうなしcoward
• ダメ男ダメおno-good man
• ダメ女ダメおんなno-good woman
• いぬloser
• くずscum
• へたれgood-for-nothing