How to say "lost" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 行方不明ゆくえふめいno-adjectiveThe common word for a person who is missing and unaccounted for, whose whereabouts are unknown — the 'lost' of news reports about someone missing after an accident or disaster.
- nounA katakana loanword meaning lost or loss; it is less common and seldom the word you want — for most everyday senses of 'lost' another word is what you need.
- 迷えるまよえるpre-noun adjectivalA formal or literary verb for being lost or astray — wandering, adrift, having lost one's way; it belongs to written, elevated prose rather than everyday speech.
- 行方知れずゆくえしれずexpressionSame meaning as 行方不明 — a person missing, unaccounted for, whereabouts unknown — but less common, so for the missing-person sense 行方不明 is the safer choice.
- 今は無きいまはなきexpression, pre-noun adjectivalCovers 'lost' only as 'long gone' — someone or something no longer with us; it is a poetic expression, not the word for everyday senses like losing your way or misplacing something.
Use 行方不明 for a missing person whose whereabouts are unknown; 「迷える」 is a literary verb for going astray; 「行方知れず」 is a less common twin of 行方不明; 「今は無き」 means long gone; 「ロスト」 is a marginal loanword.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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