“To lose”: diū 丢 vs. shīqù 失去 vs. shū 输 vs. m - Cchatty

“To lose”: diū 丢 vs. shīqù 失去 vs. shū 输 vs. mílù 迷路.

To say “lose some concrete thing/object,” use diū 丢：

I lost my wallet.
Wǒ diū le wǒde qiánbāo.
我丢了我的钱包。

NOTE: Diū 丢 is also used in the expression “to lose face” (embarrass oneself): diūliǎn 丢脸.

His son used some crude language in front of other people. He felt really embarrassed (felt he really “lost face”).
Tāde érzi zài biérén de miànqián shuō le cūhuà, tā juéde hěn diūliǎn.
他的儿子在别人的面前说了粗话，他觉得很丢脸。

To lose something in a figurative sense, as in “to lose a friend” or “to lose an opportunity,” use shīqù 失去:

Don’t lose that opportunity to go to China.
Bié shīqù nèige dào Zhōngguó qù de jīhuì.
别失去那个到中国去的机会。

To say “lose at a game or contest” use shū 输：

Did your team lose the game?
Nǐde qiúduì shū le nàchǎng bǐsài ma?
你的球队输了那场比赛吗？

To say “lose one’s way,” i.e. “get lost,” use mílù 迷路：

Buy a map, or otherwise, it’ll be easy to get lost.
Mǎi yìzhāng dìtú, yàobùrán hěn róngyì mílù.
买一张地图，要不然很容易迷路。