失落
shīluò · HSK 7
lose
失落 = 失 (lose) + 落 (drop/fall) — losing and letting it fall away
Two near-synonyms stacked: 失 means to lose or miss, and 落 means to drop or fall. Together they reinforce the sense of something slipping out of your grasp.
落 — grass radical 艹 + 洛 (water 氵 + 各)
Originally written with the grass radical 艹 over 洛, depicting leaves falling from plants. 洛 serves as the phonetic component (giving the luò sound) while 艹 supplies the meaning of vegetation. The sense extended from 'leaves falling' to the general meaning of falling, dropping, or settling down.