忘 (wàng) means "to forget," and its most important quirk is that it is almost never used bare. In real Chinese it comes dressed as 忘了 (wàng le) or 忘记 (wàngjì); a naked 忘 sounds clipped and unfinished, like saying "I forg" in English. The other thing that trips up English speakers is the "forget to do" frame: Chinese has no "to" — the forgotten action just follows 忘了 directly, as 我忘了带钱 "I forgot to bring money." Master the 了/记 habit and the no-"to" frame, and 忘 becomes one of the tidiest verbs you'll meet.
Sense 1: forget (a fact, a name, a thing)
The core sense — a piece of information has slipped your mind. Almost always 忘了 or 忘记 (…了). It works happily inside the 把 construction too: 把密码忘了.
不好意思，我一下子忘了你叫什么名字。
bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ yíxiàzi wàng le nǐ jiào shénme míngzi
Sorry — I've just blanked on your name. (informal)
我又把银行卡的密码忘了。
wǒ yòu bǎ yínhángkǎ de mìmǎ wàng le
I've forgotten my bank card PIN again.
这件事我早就忘记了，你别放在心上。
zhè jiàn shì wǒ zǎo jiù wàngjì le, nǐ bié fàng zài xīn shàng
I forgot about this ages ago — don't let it bother you.
Sense 2: forget to do (the 忘了 + verb frame)
To say you forgot to do something, put the whole verb phrase straight after 忘了. There is no word for "to" — the sequence 忘了 + VP carries it all.
我忘了带钥匙，现在进不去了。
wǒ wàng le dài yàoshi, xiànzài jìn bú qù le
I forgot to bring my keys and now I can't get in.
出门的时候忘了关空调，白开了一天。
chūmén de shíhou wàng le guān kōngtiáo, bái kāi le yì tiān
I forgot to turn off the AC when I left — it ran all day for nothing. (informal)
他好像忘了给我回消息。
tā hǎoxiàng wàng le gěi wǒ huí xiāoxi
He seems to have forgotten to text me back.
Sense 3: leave something behind (忘在)
Pair 忘 with 在 + a place and it means "leave something behind by forgetting it" — the object is somewhere, and you walked off without it. This almost always rides in a 把 sentence: 把 + thing + 忘在 + place.
糟糕，我把手机忘在办公室了。
zāogāo, wǒ bǎ shǒujī wàng zài bàngōngshì le
Oh no — I left my phone at the office. (informal)
她把雨伞忘在地铁上了。
tā bǎ yǔsǎn wàng zài dìtiě shàng le
She left her umbrella on the subway.
Sense 4: 别忘了, 忘不了 and the 记 antonym
Two everyday frames. 别忘了 (bié wàng le) "don't forget (to)…" is the way to remind someone — note it keeps 了. And the potential complement 忘不了 (wàng bu liǎo) "can't forget / unforgettable" is the natural opposite of 记得住. The whole verb's antonym is 记 (jì) "remember" — 记得 (jìde) "remember," 记住 (jìzhù) "commit to memory."
别忘了明天上午九点开会。
bié wàng le míngtiān shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn kāihuì
Don't forget the meeting at 9 tomorrow morning.
那次旅行太难忘了，我一辈子都忘不了。
nà cì lǚxíng tài nánwàng le, wǒ yíbèizi dōu wàng bu liǎo
That trip was so memorable — I'll never forget it as long as I live.
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 忘了 | wàng le | forgot |
| 忘记 | wàngjì | forget (slightly more formal) |
| 别忘了 | bié wàng le | don't forget (to) |
| 忘…在… | wàng… zài… | leave sth behind at … |
| 忘不了 | wàng bu liǎo | can't forget; unforgettable |
| 忘掉 | wàngdiào | forget / put out of mind |
| 难忘 | nánwàng | unforgettable, memorable |
| 忘性大 | wàngxìng dà | forgetful, a poor memory |
| 记 / 记得 | jì / jìde | (antonym) remember |
Grammar notes
The 了 on 忘了 is the perfective 了 marking a completed change — you did the forgetting. That's why bare 忘 feels wrong: without 了 or 记 there's no completed event to point at. In the "forget to do" frame, watch the aspect logic — you forgot, so the intended action didn't happen; the 了 lives on 忘, never on the forgotten verb (忘了带钱, not *忘带了钱).
The confusion to head off is 忘 vs 丢 (diū) "lose." 忘 is a mental lapse: you know where the thing is, you simply walked off without it (忘在车上 = it's on the bus, you left it). 丢 is physical loss: the object is gone and you can't find it (钱包丢了 = my wallet is lost). Leaving your umbrella on the train is 忘; having it stolen is 丢. And since 忘 is the flip side of remembering, it sits opposite 记 — worth reading beside the knowing verbs on the 知道 / 认识 page. The thing you forget to bring is very often introduced by 带 (dài), as in 忘了带.
Common Mistakes
1. Using bare 忘 with no 了 or 记. 忘 needs 了 (or the 记 of 忘记) to be a complete verb.
❌ 我忘他的电话号码。
Incorrect — bare 忘 is unfinished; use 忘了 / 忘记了.
✅ 我忘了他的电话号码。
wǒ wàng le tā de diànhuà hàomǎ
I've forgotten his phone number.
2. Putting the forgotten action before 忘了. The verb phrase follows 忘了, and 了 stays on 忘.
❌ 我带钱忘了。
Incorrect — the forgotten action comes after: 我忘了带钱.
✅ 我忘了带钱。
wǒ wàng le dài qián
I forgot to bring money.
3. Using 忘 for genuinely losing something. Left-behind = 忘 (忘在…); lost-and-gone = 丢.
❌ 我的钱包在商场忘了。
Off — if the wallet is truly lost, use 丢; 忘 needs a known place (忘在…).
✅ 我的钱包在商场丢了。
wǒ de qiánbāo zài shāngchǎng diū le
I lost my wallet at the mall.
4. Dropping 了 from the reminder 别忘. The set reminder keeps 了.
❌ 别忘吃药。
Incorrect — the reminder needs 了: 别忘了吃药.
✅ 别忘了按时吃药。
bié wàng le ànshí chī yào
Don't forget to take your medicine on time.
Key Takeaways
- 忘 rarely stands alone — say 忘了 or 忘记 (…了); bare 忘 sounds cut off.
- "Forget to do" = 忘了 + verb phrase, with no word for "to" and 了 staying on 忘 (忘了带钱).
- 忘在
- place = leave something behind, usually in a 把 sentence (把伞忘在车上了).
- 忘 = a mental lapse (you know where it is); 丢 = physical loss (it's gone).
- 记 "remember" is the antonym; the reminder 别忘了 keeps its 了.
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- 知道 (zhīdào) — to know (a fact)HSK 1 — 知道 (zhīdào) is 'know a fact / know that…' and readily takes a whole clause or embedded question (我知道他是谁). It splits from 认识 (know a person), 会 (know how to), and 懂/明白 (understand) — English 'know' covers all four.
- 带 (dài) — bring / take / carry / leadHSK 3 — 带 (dài) is 'have with you / carry along' — 带钱, 带伞, 带护照 — and with 来/去 it covers both English 'bring' and 'take'; it also means 'lead' (带路, 带孩子). Beware the homophone 戴 (wear accessories).
- The Perfective 了 (le₁): Completed ActionHSK 1 — The verb-suffix 了 (le₁) sits right after the verb and marks the action as completed or realized — 我吃了饭, 买了三本书. It is completion aspect, not past tense, so it can even point to the future: 下了课就走.