負ける
まける · makeru · JLPT N4 · verb-ichidan
to lose
🏳️ makeru sounds like MAKE-RUin: lose the game and you make ruin
負 means to bear a burden or a defeat — the loser carries the loss on their back. Contrast with 勝つ (katsu, to win). Makeru is intransitive: the one who loses is the subject, as in 試合に負ける, to lose the match.