perdre

Perdre is a French verb that means to lose or misplace something, to fail to keep or retain, and, in extended usage, to waste or miss out on something. It covers physical loss (perdre ses clés), the defeat of a game or competition (perdre un match), and more abstract losses such as time, money, or nerve (perdre du temps, perdre son sang-froid). The reflexive form se perdre means to get lost or to lose one’s way, or to become absorbed or distracted (se perdre dans les détails).

Etymology and related forms: Perdre comes from Latin perdere, meaning to ruin or to lose. In French it is a regular -re verb, with a fixed stem perd- across most tenses, and its past participle is perdu.

Conjugation overview: In the present tense, the forms are je perds, tu perds, il perd, nous perdons, vous perdez, ils perdent. The passé composé uses être or, more commonly, avoir: j’ai perdu. Other tenses follow standard -re verb patterns: imparfait je perdais, futur je perdrai, conditionnel je perdrais, subjonctif que je perde. The past participle is perdu, with agreements in compounds when a preceding direct object requires it (for example, les clés que j’ai perdues).

Usage notes and common expressions: Phrases include perdre du temps (to waste time), perdre du poids (to lose weight), perdre son équilibre ou pied (to lose one’s footing), perdre la tête (to lose one’s head), and perdre le nord (to lose one’s bearings). Se perdre peut also indicate getting physically lost or being figuratively distracted. Perdre is versatile in both literal and figurative contexts, widely used in everyday French.