输家
shūjiā · HSK 7
loser
👎 输 lose + 家 -er suffix = the one who loses, a loser
输 means to lose (a game or bet); 家 here is the -er agent suffix seen in 专家 expert or 作家 writer. Put them together and 输家 is literally the lose-er, the one on the losing end.
输 — cart 車 + 兪 (phonetic)
输 is a phono-semantic compound. The radical 車 (cart/vehicle) gives the meaning, originally referring to transporting goods by cart. The component 兪 supplies the sound. From 'transport' it extended to 'send/deliver', then by metaphor to 'lose' (as in handing over stakes in a game).
家 — roof 宀 + pig 豕
Originally a pictograph of a pig under a roof, since domesticated pigs were kept in or under the home in ancient China. Over time the meaning broadened from 'household' to 'family,' and by extension 'home' or a specialist (as in 专家, 'expert').