失 (shī) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

shī to lose; to make a mistake, to neglect 5 strokes · Radical 大 (big) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)

👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 失 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced shī.

to lose
to make a mistake
to neglect

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

失 — 5 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

失 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Overlap. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

失 =

丿 back slash

夫 front man

Radical

The radical of 失 is 大 — meaning big. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 套奋奖.

How the character is built

失 is an ideographic compound — its meaning is suggested by the combination of its parts rather than by sound. Something 丿 falling from a hand 夫.

HSK 4 Words Containing 失

失败 shībài to fail; failure

失败是成功之母。

Shībài shì chénggōng zhī mǔ.

Failure is the mother of success.

失去 shīqù to lose; to part with

他失去了一个很好的机会。

Tā shīqù le yí gè hěn hǎo de jīhuì.

He lost a great opportunity.

失望 shīwàng to be disappointed; disappointed

他对考试结果感到很失望。

Tā duì kǎoshì jiéguǒ gǎndào hěn shīwàng.

He was very disappointed with the exam results.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

失 appears in 39 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

小张很让人失望。

From Mock Exam 09 →

电影让观众很失望。

From Mock Exam 17 →

我们对失败应该有正确的认识。

From Mock Exam 03 →

Tasks Featuring 失 / 相关任务

Words containing 失 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 谈论某个人物

Describe a Person · 失望

📚 介绍历史人物、历史事件

Historical Figures & Events · 失败

FAQ

What does 失 mean in Chinese?

失 (shī) means to lose; to make a mistake, to neglect. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 失 have?

失 is written in 5 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 失?

The radical of 失 is 大 (big). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 套, 奋, 奖.

What is the pinyin for 失?

失 is pronounced shī.

What HSK 4 words use 失?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 失 appears in 3 words, including 失败 (shībài), 失去 (shīqù), 失望 (shīwàng). See the full list above.