1.
lost property; lost article; missing item
An item that has been lost or misplaced. Used in official, administrative, and everyday contexts when reporting or inquiring about something that has gone missing.
紛失物の届けを出した。
I filed a lost property report.
紛失物は駅の窓口にお問い合わせください。
Please inquire about lost property at the station counter.
紛失物が見つかったと警察から連絡があった。
I got a call from the police saying my lost item had been found.
ホテルでは毎日多くの紛失物が届けられる。
Hotels receive many lost items every day.
Composed of 紛失 (loss, going missing) and 物 (thing, object). This is the formal/administrative term for items that someone has lost. Japan has a well-organized lost-and-found system, and this word appears on forms, signs, and announcements at train stations, police boxes, and public facilities.
When you lose something in Japan, you can file a 紛失届 (lost property report) at the nearest 交番 (police box) or at the facility where you lost it. Japan's high return rate for lost items makes knowing this vocabulary particularly practical.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 紛失物の届け: lost property report
- 紛失物取扱い所: lost and found office
- 紛失物を届ける: to turn in a lost item
- 紛失物の問い合わせ: lost property inquiry
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 落とし物: lost item, something dropped — the most common everyday term; implies the item was accidentally dropped
- 遺失物: lost property — legal/formal synonym, used in the 遺失物法 (Lost Property Act)
- 忘れ物: forgotten item — specifically something left behind, such as an umbrella on a train