فراموش کردن farâmush kardan: to Forget | Farsi Grammar

فراموش کردن is the neutral standard Persian verb for “to forget.” It can take a person, thing, fact, or intended action as its content: اسمش را فراموش کردم “I forgot her name,” فراموش کردم که... “I forgot that...,” and فراموش کردم... کنم “I forgot to do...” The compound is transitive, and کردن carries all inflection.

Everyday speech also strongly favors یادم رفت—literally, “it went from my memory”—especially for a lapse such as forgetting an appointment or failing to do something. The two expressions overlap, but they package responsibility differently: active فراموش کردم foregrounds the forgetter, while experiencer یادم رفت presents the content as slipping from memory.

Principal parts and high-value paradigm

Form	Persian	Romanization	Use
infinitive	فراموش کردن	farâmush kardan	to forget
past base	فراموش کرد	farâmush kard	فراموش کردم
present base	فراموش کن	farâmush kon	فراموش می‌کنم
past participle	فراموش کرده	farâmush karde	فراموش کرده‌ام
imperative	فراموش کن / فراموش کنید	farâmush kon / farâmush konid	forget; often figurative advice
negative imperative	فراموش نکن / فراموش نکنید	farâmush nakon / farâmush nakonid	do not forget; very frequent reminder

Person	Present	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	فراموش می‌کنم	فراموش کردم	فراموش کرده‌ام	فراموش کنم
you (sg.)	فراموش می‌کنی	فراموش کردی	فراموش کرده‌ای	فراموش کنی
he/she/it	فراموش می‌کند	فراموش کرد	فراموش کرده است	فراموش کند
we	فراموش می‌کنیم	فراموش کردیم	فراموش کرده‌ایم	فراموش کنیم
you (pl./polite)	فراموش می‌کنید	فراموش کردید	فراموش کرده‌اید	فراموش کنید
they	فراموش می‌کنند	فراموش کردند	فراموش کرده‌اند	فراموش کنند

Negatives are فراموش نمی‌کنم، فراموش نکردم، فراموش نکرده‌ام، فراموش نکنم. The neutral compound subjunctive and command normally lack affirmative بـ on کردن. Negative نـ and imperfective می‌ attach to the light verb, not to فراموش.

کارت شناسایی‌ات را فراموش نکن؛ بدون آن راهت نمی‌دهند.

kârt-e shenâsâyi-at râ farâmush nakon; bedun-e ân râh-at nemi-dahand.

Don't forget your ID card; they won't let you in without it. (familiar singular; neutral)

بعید است چنین لطفی را فراموش کنیم.

ba'id ast chonin lotfi râ farâmush konim.

It is unlikely that we will forget such a kindness. (formal-neutral; subjunctive)

Noun objects and specificity

A specific forgotten person, fact, name, appointment, or object normally takes را: قرار امروز را فراموش کردم. A general category can be bare, but most real-world lapses concern identifiable information, so را is frequent. Pronoun objects commonly attach to فراموش in conversation: فراموشت نکرده‌ام “I haven't forgotten you.”

رمز تازه‌ی حسابم را فراموش کرده‌ام.

ramz-e tâze-ye hesâb-am râ farâmush karde-am.

I've forgotten my account's new password. (neutral standard; present result)

با اینکه سال‌ها گذشته، دوستان قدیمی‌اش را فراموش نکرده است.

bâ in-ke sâl-hâ gozashte, dustân-e qadimi-ash râ farâmush nakarde ast.

Although years have passed, she has not forgotten her old friends. (neutral standard)

نگران نباش؛ فراموشت نکرده‌ام و امشب تماس می‌گیرم.

negarân nabâsh; farâmush-at nakarde-am va emshab tamâs mi-giram.

Don't worry; I haven't forgotten you, and I'll call tonight. (neutral spoken standard; internal object clitic)

Present perfect فراموش کرده‌ام commonly expresses a result that holds now: the information is no longer accessible. Simple past can locate the lapse at a past moment. Context may later cancel the result: فراموش کرده بودم، ولی دوباره یادم آمد “I had forgotten, but then I remembered again.”

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With a present result, فراموش کرده‌ام is often the best match for English “I have forgotten.” Simple فراموش کردم foregrounds the past lapse.

Forgetting that something is true

A remembered or forgotten proposition commonly follows که. The embedded verb keeps the tense appropriate to its content: فراموش کردم که امروز تعطیل است “I forgot that today is a holiday.” This is not an instruction or unrealized action; it is a fact temporarily absent from memory.

فراموش کرده بودم که امروز بانک‌ها تعطیل هستند.

farâmush karde budam ke emruz bânk-hâ ta'til hastand.

I had forgotten that the banks are closed today. (neutral standard; factual clause)

هیچ‌وقت فراموش نمی‌کنم که آن روز چقدر به من کمک کردی.

hich-vaqt farâmush nemi-konam ke ân ruz cheqadr be man komak kardi.

I will never forget how much you helped me that day. (neutral standard)

Forgetting to do something

When the lapse is failure to carry out an intended action, Persian uses a finite subjunctive: فراموش کردم دارو را بخورم “I forgot to take the medicine.” The second verb marks its own person. Optional که can occur, but direct juxtaposition is very common.

فراموش کردم فایل را پیش از خروج ذخیره کنم.

farâmush kardam fâyl râ pish az khoruj zakhire konam.

I forgot to save the file before exiting. (neutral standard; unrealized action)

لطفا فراموش نکنید در پایان فرم را امضا کنید.

lotfan farâmush nakonid dar pâyân form râ emzâ konid.

Please don't forget to sign the form at the end. (polite standard)

This distinction parallels English forget that versus forget to, but Persian does not use an infinitive for the second. The finite ending reveals who was supposed to act: فراموش کردم تماس بگیرم means “I forgot to call.” With a different intended actor, make the arrangement explicit: فراموش کردم که قرار بود او تماس بگیرد “I forgot that he/she was supposed to call.”

Experiencer یادم رفت

یادم رفت is exceptionally common for an unintentional lapse. The clitic on یاد identifies the experiencer: یادم، یادت، یادش، یادمان، یادتان، یادشان. رفت remains third-person singular because the clitic is not a subject ending. Present یادم می‌رود describes a recurring tendency; perfect یادم رفته است describes a current forgotten state.

یادم رفت برای فردا نان بخرم.

yâd-am raft barâ-ye fardâ nân be-kharam.

I forgot to buy bread for tomorrow. (neutral spoken standard)

اسم آن کوچه یادم رفته است، ولی مسیر را بلدم.

esm-e ân kuche yâd-am rafte ast, vali masir râ balad-am.

I've forgotten the name of that alley, but I know the route. (neutral standard)

فراموش کردم is not inherently formal or blame-taking, and یادم رفت is not an excuse by grammar alone. Still, the experiencer construction often sounds less agentive and is therefore natural in apologies for small oversights. The pattern is analyzed on Experiencer Clitics.

What فراموش کردن does not mean

English can say “I forgot my umbrella at home,” using forget for leaving an object behind. Persian normally says چترم را خانه جا گذاشتم. چترم را فراموش کردم is understandable in some contexts but does not idiomatically name the location-based result as precisely.

کیفم را در تاکسی جا گذاشتم، نه اینکه جای آن را فراموش کرده باشم.

keyf-am râ dar tâksi jâ gozâshtam, na in-ke jâ-ye ân râ farâmush karde bâsham.

I left my bag in the taxi; it isn't that I've forgotten where it is. (neutral standard)

فراموش شدن places the forgotten content as subject: این رسم کم‌کم فراموش شد “this custom was gradually forgotten.” It can be an intransitive/result expression rather than a mechanical passive with an expressed agent.

Tehran conversational forms

Tehran speech (informal, regional: Tehran) has فراموش می‌کنه / می‌کنن, but یادم میره، یادم رفت، یادم رفته are often more idiomatic for daily lapses. Colloquial object را becomes رو / ـو.

ببخشید، یادم رفت برات پیام بفرستم.

bebakhshid, yâd-am raft barât payâm be-ferestam.

Sorry, I forgot to send you a message. (informal, regional: Tehran)

اسمشو فراموش کردم، ولی چهره‌ش کاملا یادمه.

esm-ash-o farâmush kardam, vali chehre-sh kâmelan yâd-ame.

I forgot his name, but I remember his face perfectly. (informal, regional: Tehran)

Common Mistakes

1. Putting negation on فراموش

❌ من قولت را نفراموش کردم.

Incorrect — negation attaches to کردن, not to the nonverbal element.

✅ من قولی را که دادی فراموش نکردم.

man qowli râ ke dâdi farâmush nakardam.

I didn't forget the promise you made.

2. Using a long infinitive for a missed action

❌ فراموش کردم در را بستن.

Incorrect — the unrealized action must be finite and person-marked.

✅ فراموش کردم در پشتی را ببندم.

farâmush kardam dar-e poshti râ be-bandam.

I forgot to close the back door.

3. Making رفت agree with the experiencer clitic

❌ یادم رفتم که جلسه ساعت سه بود.

Incorrect — ـم is the experiencer; the verb stays third-person singular رفت.

✅ یادم رفت که جلسه ساعت سه شروع می‌شد.

yâd-am raft ke jalse sâ'at-e se shoru' mi-shod.

I forgot that the meeting was starting at three.

4. Translating “leave something behind” mechanically

❌ گوشی‌ام را روی میز خانه یادم رفت.

Incorrect hybrid for ‘I left my phone behind’ — use transitive جا گذاشتن.

✅ گوشی‌ام را روی میز آشپزخانه جا گذاشتم.

gushi-am râ ru-ye miz-e âshpazkhâne jâ gozâshtam.

I left my phone on the kitchen table.

Key Takeaways

Inflect کردن: فراموش می‌کنم، فراموش کردم، فراموش کرده‌ام، فراموش کنم.
Specific forgotten content takes را; a forgotten proposition normally follows که.
“Forget to do” uses a finite subjunctive: فراموش کردم تماس بگیرم.
یادم رفت is a frequent experiencer alternative; رفت does not agree with clitic ـم.
For physically leaving an object somewhere, prefer جا گذاشتن, not a literal transfer of English forget.

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