亡くす
なくす
to lose (a family member or close person) to death
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
彼は若いころ父親を亡くした。
かれはわかいころちちおやをなくした。
He lost his father when he was young.
息子を亡くした夫婦に、みんなが同情した。
むすこをなくしたふうふに、みんながどうじょうした。
Everyone sympathized with the couple who had lost their son.
去年、長年連れ添った妻を亡くしてから、彼はあまり外に出なくなった。
きょねん、ながねんつれそったつまをなくしてから、かれはあまりそとにでなくなった。
Since losing his wife of many years last year, he has rarely gone out.
Common patterns
- 親を亡くす
- to lose a parent
- 夫を亡くす
- to lose one's husband
- 友人を亡くす
- to lose a friend
Memory tip
Identical in sound to 無くす "to lose an object", but 亡くす is only used for people who have died — writing 財布を亡くす would be a serious mistake. Its intransitive partner is 亡くなる, the polite way to say someone died.
Kanji in this word
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What does 亡くす mean?