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LingakuLingakuThese three verbs – そこなう損なう (そこなう), そこねる損ねる (そこねる), and そんじる損じる (そんじる) – all relate to the idea of damaging, failing, or missing an opportunity to do something. They can function both as independent verbs and as compound verb suffixes (attached to the stem of another verb). Their usages overlap but have important distinctions.
As an independent verb, そこなう損なう means "to harm," "to damage," or "to impair" something. It is used with abstract nouns like health, trust, or reputation.
As a compound verb suffix (V[stem] + 損なう), it means "to fail to do something properly" or "to do something wrong / badly". This usage is relatively literary.
As an independent verb, そこねる損ねる also means "to harm" or "to hurt", often used with things like feelings, mood, or health.
As a compound verb suffix (V[stem] + 損ねる), it is the most common of the three and means "to miss the chance to do something" or "to fail to do something". This is the form most frequently encountered in everyday speech and writing.
The nuance of ～損ねる as a suffix emphasizes that the opportunity was there but was missed, rather than that the action was performed incorrectly.
As a compound verb suffix, ～損じる means "to fail at doing" or "to bungle", similar to ～損なう. It sounds quite formal or old-fashioned.
| Suffix | Primary meaning | Nuance | |---|---|---| | ～損なう | to fail to do properly | literary; doing it wrong | | ～損ねる | to miss the chance to do | most common; missed opportunity | | ～損じる | to fail at / bungle | formal / literary |
A common mistake is confusing ～損ねる (missed opportunity) with ～損なう (doing incorrectly). For example, たべ食べそこねた損ねた means "I missed my chance to eat," while たべ食べそこなった損なった leans more toward "I failed to eat (properly)" – though in modern usage they sometimes overlap.