It’s what we feel when something is missing—money, people, time, or control. In German, that’s der Verlust. This is your German word of the day, and it’s a powerful, versatile word that appears in everything from financial reports to heartbreaks.
The noun Verlust means loss, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. Whether you're reading a news headline, going over accounting figures, or just talking about a tough day, you’ll run into this word.
It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Verlust (still confused by gender? Our light-speed video lesson makes it finally click: https://deutschable.com/course/lesson-3-3/).
Pronunciation
Verlust is pronounced [fer-LOOST].
Ver sounds like “fair,”
lust rhymes with “boost,” but with a hard t at the end,
Stress is on the second syllable: ver-LUST
It’s sharp, heavy, and serious—like the feeling it describes.
Example sentences:
Der Verlust war enorm.
The loss was enormous.
Wir bedauern den Verlust sehr.
We deeply regret the loss.
Nuance and usage tips
Verlust appears in emotional, practical, and technical contexts:
Emotional or personal loss
ein schmerzhafter Verlust – a painful loss
der Verlust eines geliebten Menschen – the loss of a loved one
Financial or material loss
Verluste machen – to incur losses
Gewinn und Verlust – profit and loss
Other abstract or physical loss
Datenverlust – data loss
Verlust von Kontrolle – loss of control
You’ll often hear verbs like:
erleiden – to suffer a loss
verzeichnen – to record a loss
ausgleichen – to offset or recover a loss
How does this word come up in real conversations?
Verlust shows up often in formal writing and news, but also in daily speech:
“Das war ein großer Verlust für uns alle.” – That was a big loss for all of us.
“Nach dem Unfall hatte er einen hohen finanziellen Verlust.” – After the accident, he had a major financial loss.
It’s also a useful word in business, insurance, and emotional contexts.
Sample Dialogue (Beginner Level)
Mila: Ich habe gestern mein Portemonnaie verloren.
Jonas: Oh nein! Großer Verlust?
Mila: Nur etwas Bargeld… aber alle Karten.
Jonas: Dann musst du schnell alles sperren!
Mila: I lost my wallet yesterday.
Jonas: Oh no! Big loss?
Mila: Just some cash… but all my cards.
Jonas: Then you should block everything quickly!
Grammatical case examples:
Nominative:
Der Verlust war unvermeidbar.
The loss was unavoidable.
Accusative:
Ich bedaure den Verlust sehr.
I deeply regret the loss.
Dative:
Mit dem Verlust konnte sie schwer umgehen.
She struggled to cope with the loss.
Genitive:
Die Folgen des Verlusts waren spürbar.
The consequences of the loss were noticeable.
Masculine case pattern: der, den, dem, des
Word variations and language tidbits
Some helpful related words:
Verlustmeldung – loss report
Verlustgeschäft – loss-making transaction
Verlustangst – fear of loss
Verlustfrei – lossless (e.g. in data compression)
Kriegsverlust – wartime casualty/loss
Verlustquote – rate of loss
This word is often paired with its opposite: Gewinn (gain/profit).
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Verlust
🎥 Learn Verlust and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course: https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Do you know what Verlierer means? It might not be what you think—unless you’ve ever walked away empty-handed.
And have you seen Verschwendung? That one’s about wasting more than just time…