Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish
How to say "to lose" in Spanish
"To lose" in Spanish is perder, pronounced per-DER (stress on the syllable in capitals).
| Spanish | perder |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | per-DER |
| Meaning | to lose |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Frequency | #106 in the Palabra list of common Spanish words |
Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Spanish voice.
How to pronounce perder
Perder is pronounced per-DER, in IPA /peɾˈdeɾ/. Perder has two syllables, per-DER, with the stress on the second. There is no written accent because the word follows the basic rule: words ending in a consonant other than -n or -s are stressed on the last syllable.
Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Example sentences
No quiero perder
I don't want to lose
perder las llaves
to lose the keys
No me gusta perder.
I don't like losing.
"To lose" in Spain and Latin America
Perder is also "to miss": perder el tren (to miss the train).
Regional words and roots: Diccionario de la lengua española (RAE). Spanish varies by region, so treat these as the most common patterns, not strict rules.
How to remember perder
perder [per-DER] sounds like the English “pear there”. Picture this:
«The pear was there!» — you lose it and find only a bitten shadow of it.
A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.
Practice perder
Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.