نسي nisi is the neutral everyday Cairene verb “forget.” It is final-weak: its final ي appears as -i in نسي nisi, as long -ē- in نسيت nisēt, and as -a/-i/-u across the imperfect ينسى / تنسي / ينسوا. Those alternations belong to the verb; they are not optional spelling variants.
The verb can take a thing, a fact introduced by إن, or a following bare verb meaning an action that failed to happen. Its active participle ناسي nāsi describes a present mental state: “not remembering” or “having forgotten.” The event–state contrast belongs to the wider system of active-participle states.
Complete practical paradigm
| Person | Perfect | Bare imperfect | b-imperfect | ḥa-future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| أنا | نِسِيتْ nisēt | أَنْسَى ʾansa | بَانْسَى bansa | حَانْسَى ḥa-ansa |
| إنت | نِسِيتْ nisēt | تِنْسَى tinsa | بِتِنْسَى bitinsa | حَتِنْسَى ḥa-tinsa |
| إنتي | نِسِيتِي nisēti | تِنْسِي tinsi | بِتِنْسِي bitinsi | حَتِنْسِي ḥa-tinsi |
| هو | نِسِي nisi | يِنْسَى yinsa | بِيِنْسَى biyinsa | حَيِنْسَى ḥa-yinsa |
| هي | نِسْيِتْ nisyit | تِنْسَى tinsa | بِتِنْسَى bitinsa | حَتِنْسَى ḥa-tinsa |
| إحنا | نِسِينَا nisēna | نِنْسَى ninsa | بِنِنْسَى bininsa | حَنِنْسَى ḥa-ninsa |
| إنتوا | نِسِيتُوا nisētu | تِنْسُوا tinsu | بِتِنْسُوا bitinsu | حَتِنْسُوا ḥa-tinsu |
| هم | نِسْيُوا nisyu | يِنْسُوا yinsu | بِيِنْسُوا biyinsu | حَيِنْسُوا ḥa-yinsu |
The useful memory bundle is نسي / نسيت / ينسى. Do not derive the imperfect from English forget, and do not import formal نَسِيَ / يَنْسَى endings into ordinary speech. The table gives the productive person forms even though third-person forms are especially frequent with forgotten things as objects.
نسينا الشاحن في الفندق ورجعنا نجيبه.
nisēna sh-shāḥin fi l-funduʾ wi-rigiʿna nigībo.
We left the charger at the hotel and went back to get it.
أبويا بينسى الأسامي، بس عمره ما بينسى وش.
ʾabūya biyinsa l-ʾasāmi, bass ʿomro ma biyinsa wishsh.
My father forgets names, but he never forgets a face.
Objects, facts, and missed actions
With a noun, نسي takes a direct object: نسي المفتاح. A pronoun attaches directly: نسيته nisēto “I forgot it/him,” نسيها nisīha “he forgot it/her.” With إن, the complement is a forgotten fact. With a following bare imperfect, the complement is an action somebody failed to do.
نسيت الكارت، فدفعت كاش عند الكاشير.
nisēt il-kārt, fa-dafaʿt kāsh ʿand il-kashīr.
I forgot the card, so I paid cash at the checkout.
نسيتها في التاكسي، والسواق رجعهالي.
nisētha fi t-tāksi, wi-s-sawwāʾ raggaʿhāli.
I left it in the taxi, and the driver returned it to me.
نسيت إني وعدتك أعدي عليك بعد الشغل.
nisēt ʾinni waʿadtak ʾaʿaddi ʿalēk baʿd ish-shoghl.
I forgot that I'd promised to stop by after work.
ماتنساش تبعتلي العنوان قبل ما تتحرك.
ma-tinsāsh tibʿatli l-ʿonwān ʾabl ma titḥarrak.
Don't forget to send me the address before you leave.
English uses forget both for memory loss and for leaving an object behind. Egyptian نسي also covers both, so the natural translation of نسيت الشنطة في العربية is “I left the bag in the car,” not necessarily “I forgot the bag.” No preposition equivalent to English about is required after the verb.
Event versus present state
Perfect نسي locates a forgetting event or its discovery. B-imperfect بينسى describes a habit or recurring tendency. ناسي، ناسية، ناسيين says that the person is currently in the resulting state of not remembering. It takes مش, not verbal ما...ش.
أنا ناسي الرقم، بس كاتبه في النوتس.
ʾana nāsi r-raʾam, bass kātbo fi n-nōts.
I don't remember the number, but I've written it in my notes.
هي مش ناسية اللي حصل؛ هي بس مش عايزة تتكلم.
hiyya mish nāsya lli ḥaṣal; hiyya bass mish ʿāyza titkallim.
She hasn't forgotten what happened; she just doesn't want to talk.
The passive/result adjective منسي minsi means “forgotten, neglected” and is useful but less central than ناسي: مكان منسي is a forgotten or overlooked place. It does not mean that the place itself forgot something.
Commands, future, and clitics
The positive commands are انسى insa, انسي insi, and انسوا insu. Negative commands are ماتنساش، ماتنسيش، ماتنسوش. Future حـ joins the bare form: حينسى “he will forget.” An object clitic attaches after the already selected subject form: compare first-person نسيته nisēto “I forgot it/him” and نسيتها nisētha “I forgot it/her” with third-person نسيها nisīha “he forgot it/her.”
انسي اللي قاله وركزي في شغلك.
insi lli ʾālo wi-rakkizi fi shoghlik.
Forget what he said and focus on your work. (to one woman)
لو ماسجلناش الميعاد، حننساه وسط الزحمة.
law ma-saggilnāsh il-mīʿād, ḥa-ninsāh wasaṭ iz-zaḥma.
If we don't record the appointment, we'll forget it amid all the rush.
انسى الموضوع may be a literal request to stop thinking about a topic, a reassuring “forget it,” or a dismissive “no chance.” That last reading is interactional (informal) and depends on tone; it is not a separate conjugation.
A short dialogue
إنت فاكر تجيب العقد، ولا حتنساه زي المرة اللي فاتت؟
inta fākir tigīb il-ʿaʾd, walla ḥa-tinsāh zayy il-marra lli fātit?
Do you remember to bring the contract, or will you forget it like last time?
حطيته في الشنطة من دلوقتي عشان مانساهوش.
ḥaṭṭēto fi sh-shanṭa min dilwaʾti ʿashān ma-nsahūsh.
I put it in the bag already so I won't forget it.
Register and variation
These forms are mainstream Cairene (informal/neutral). Fully inflected نَسِيَ / يَنْسَى belongs to MSA (formal), while ordinary Egyptian omits case and mood endings. Speakers from Alexandria, the Delta, Upper Egypt, and other communities may differ in vowels and rhythm (regional), but نسي / نسيت / ينسى is widely understood. Comic performance may exaggerate forgetfulness with repeated ناسي; that stereotype should not be treated as a regional grammar fact.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating the final-weak perfect as a strong verb.
❌ أنا نست البطاقة في البيت.
Incorrect—the first-person perfect is نسيت, not نست.
✅ أنا نسيت البطاقة في الجاكيت القديم.
ʾana nisēt il-biṭāʾa fi l-gakēt il-ʾadīm.
I left the card in the old jacket.
2. Copying English “forget about” with عن.
❌ نسيت عن ميعاد الدكتور.
Incorrect neutral valency—ميعاد الدكتور is a direct object.
✅ نسيت ميعاد الدكتور لحد ما السكرتيرة كلمتني.
nisēt mīʿād id-doktōr laḥadd ma s-sekritēra kallimitni.
I forgot the doctor's appointment until the receptionist called me.
3. Giving the intended action a b-imperfect.
❌ نسيت ببعت الإيميل.
Incorrect after نسي—the unfulfilled action uses the bare imperfect.
✅ نسيت أبعت الإيميل قبل الاجتماع.
nisēt ʾabʿat il-ʾēmēl ʾabl il-igtimāʿ.
I forgot to send the email before the meeting.
4. Negating the state participle as a finite verb.
❌ أنا ماناسيش اسمها.
Incorrect neutral participle negation—use مش ناسي.
✅ أنا مش ناسي اسمها؛ محتاج بس أفتكر رقمها.
ʾana mish nāsi smaha; moḥtāg bass ʾiftikir raʾamha.
I haven't forgotten her name; I just need to remember her number.
Key Takeaways
- Store نسي / نسيت / ينسى together; final weakness changes both stem shape and suffix behavior.
- Use a direct object for a thing, إن for a fact, and a bare verb for an action that failed to happen.
- Perfect نسي presents an event, b-imperfect بينسى a tendency, and ناسي the current result state.
- Positive انسى and negative ماتنساش are different command structures.
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