Lose is a verb in the base form meaning to not keep something, not win, or to no longer have something. Lost is the past form of lose and is used for completed past events. Lost is also an adjective meaning not found, confused, or not knowing where you are. The key is to decide whether you need a present or infinitive verb form lose, a past verb form lost, or an adjective lost.

Lose describes an action: something happens and you fail to keep it, you cannot find it, or you do not win. It can refer to objects, games, opportunities, time, or qualities like patience and control. Lose focuses on the action of no longer having or not succeeding. It often needs an object after it, like lose your keys or lose the match.

Lost is the simple past and past participle of lose. Use lost for actions completed in the past, often with a past time reference like yesterday, last week, or earlier. Use have lost for present perfect when the loss happened before now and matters now. Use had lost for past perfect when one past loss happened before another past event.

Subject	🇨🇳 中文 主语	Form	🇨🇳 中文 形式	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
I	👤 我	lose lost have lost	📝 lose lost have lost	I lose my temper sometimes, but I lost it yesterday and I have lost it before.	💬 我有时会发脾气，但昨天我发过脾气，且之前也发过。
you	👤 你	lose lost have lost	📝 lose lost have lost	You lose focus easily, you lost focus in class, and you have lost focus lately.	💬 你容易分心，在课堂上分心了，最近也分心过。
he	👤 他	loses lost has lost	📝 loses lost has lost	He loses his keys often, he lost them yesterday, and he has lost them again.	💬 他经常丢钥匙，他昨天把它们丢了，最近又丢了。
she	👤 她	loses lost has lost	📝 loses lost has lost	She loses track of time, she lost track last night, and she has lost track recently.	💬 她经常忘记时间，昨晚忘记了时间，最近也忘记了时间。
it	👤 它	loses lost has lost	📝 loses lost has lost	It loses battery fast, it lost power earlier, and it has lost power before.	💬 它耗电很快，早些时候没电了，之前也没电过。
we	👤 我们	lose lost have lost	📝 lose lost have lost	We lose games sometimes, we lost last weekend, and we have lost a few lately.	💬 我们有时会输掉比赛，上周末我们输了，最近也输过几场。
they	👤 他们	lose lost have lost	📝 lose lost have lost	They lose confidence quickly, they lost confidence after the mistake, and they have lost confidence this year.	💬 他们很容易失去自信，犯错后他们失去了自信，今年他们也失去了自信。

Lost can be an adjective, not a verb. As an adjective, it describes something that cannot be found, or a person who is confused or without direction. In this use, it often appears after be, seem, feel, look, or get. If you can replace it with confused or missing, lost is likely an adjective.

Use lose for habits, repeated actions, general truths, and future meaning with will or going to. Use lost for a completed past event, especially when you mention when it happened. Use have lost when the result is important now, such as something still missing. Choosing the right time meaning prevents mixing lose with past time words like yesterday.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
Use lose for present or future meaning	📌 用 lose 表示现在或将来含义	I lose my keys sometimes. I will lose my mind if it happens again.	💬 我有时会丢钥匙。我若再发生就会发疯。
Use lost for a finished past event	📌 用 lost 表示已完成的过去事件	I lost my keys yesterday.	💬 我昨天丢了我的钥匙。
Use have lost when it is still true now	📌 当结果现在仍然成立时使用 have lost	I have lost my keys, so I cannot get in.	💬 我已经丢了我的钥匙，因此进不去。
Avoid lose with clear past time words	📌 避免在明确过去时间词后使用 lose	Correct: I lost my wallet last night.	💬 正确：我昨晚丢了钱包。

Lose appears in several common verb patterns that help you recognize it quickly. Lose is often followed by a noun, like lose money, or a noun phrase, like lose your way. It is also common in fixed expressions like lose weight, lose interest, and lose track of time. These patterns always use lose in the base form and lost in the past.

Word/Phrase	🇨🇳 中文 单词/短语	Definition	🇨🇳 中文 定义	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
lose weight	🧩 lose weight	become lighter	🧾 变轻	She wants to lose weight this year.	💬 她今年想减肥。
lose interest	🧩 lose interest	stop being interested	🧾 不再感兴趣	I lost interest halfway through the movie.	💬 我在看电影中途失去了兴趣。
lose your way	🧩 lose your way	become confused about direction	🧾 迷路，方向感受损	We lost our way in the old town.	💬 我们在老城里迷路了。
lose track of time	🧩 lose track of time	stop noticing time passing	🧾 逐渐忘记时间的流逝	I lose track of time when I read.	💬 我读书时会忘记时间。
lose control	🧩 lose control	fail to control something	🧾 无法控制某物	He lost control of the car on the ice.	💬 他在冰面上失去了对车的控制。

When talking about competitions, lose means you do not win. It can take an object like lose the match, or it can be used without an object in context like We lost. The past form lost is extremely common in sports and games, and it can be paired with by to show the margin. This meaning is different from misplacing objects but uses the same verb forms.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
Use lose to mean not win	🏁 使用 lose 表示没有赢	We always lose against them.	💬 We always lose against them.
Use lost for past results	🏁 使用 lost 表示过去的结果	We lost the match on Saturday.	💬 We lost the match on Saturday.
Use lose to someone for the opponent	🏁 将 lose 用于对手时	They lost to a stronger team.	💬 They lost to a stronger team.
Use lose by for the margin	🏁 用 by 表示分差	She lost by two points.	💬 She lost by two points.

Lost can also be a noun in specific contexts, especially in set phrases and signs. The most common is lost and found, which refers to a place or system for items that were found after being lost. You may also see the plural losses for negative results such as financial losses or team losses. This noun use is separate from the verb lose.

Lose and lost are easy to confuse in writing because they share the same root but look different. Lose ends with -se and has a long vowel sound. Lost ends with -st and marks the past form, and its vowel is shorter. Keeping the spelling connected to time meaning helps you choose the correct word.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Description	🇨🇳 中文 描述	Notation	🇨🇳 中文 记号	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
Lose vowel	🔤 Lose 的元音	Long oo sound	🧾 长元音 oo	/luːz/	🗣️ /luːz/	I might lose my phone.	💬 我可能会丢失我的手机。
Lost vowel	🔤 Lost 的元音	Short o sound in many accents	🧾 多数口音中的短元音	/lɔst/ or /lɑst/	🗣️ /lɔst/ 或 /lɑst/	I lost my phone yesterday.	💬 我昨天丢了我的手机。
Final consonants	🔤 最后辅音	Lose ends with z sound, lost ends with st	🧾 Lose 以 z 音结尾，lost 以 st 结尾	/z/ vs /st/	🗣️ /z/ vs /st/	lose vs lost	💬 lose vs lost

To choose correctly, ask what role the word plays in your sentence. If it is the main action and the time is now, general, or future, use lose. If the action happened in the past, use lost. If the word describes a person or thing as missing or confused after be or feel, use lost as an adjective.