Забува́ти (imperfective) and забу́ти (perfective) are the two halves of one of the most useful verb pairs in Ukrainian: "to forget." Like every Ukrainian aspect pair, they split the labour of a single English verb between two distinct forms. Забува́ти describes forgetting as a process or a habit — the slow leaking-away of memory, or your chronic tendency to forget things. Забу́ти describes a single, completed act of forgetting: one fact gone, one errand undone, one name that has just slipped away. English makes you reach for adverbs ("I keep forgetting," "I forgot it once") to convey what Ukrainian builds straight into the verb.
The aspectual contrast
The clearest way to feel the difference is to notice that забува́ти can run in the present tense, while забу́ти cannot. A completed forgetting is never happening right now — by the time it is complete, it is already in the past or the future. So the perfective borrows the present-tense endings to express the future: забу́ду literally has present-tense shape but future meaning ("I will forget").
Я ча́сто забува́ю, де припаркува́в маши́ну.
I often forget where I parked the car.
Вибач, я зо́всім забу́в, що ми домовля́лися на сього́дні.
Sorry, I completely forgot we had arranged to meet today.
The first sentence is a habit (imperfective, present). The second is one finished act of forgetting (perfective, past). Swap the aspects and a native speaker hears something wrong: a habitual "я забу́ваю" cannot mean a single slip, and "я забу́в, де припаркува́в" would mean you forgot once, not that you keep forgetting.
Imperfective: забува́ти
This is a regular -ва́ти (class 1) verb. The stress sits firmly on -ва́- throughout the present tense.
| Form | Present | Future (analytic) | Future (synthetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | забува́ю | бу́ду забува́ти | забува́тиму |
| ти | забува́єш | бу́деш забува́ти | забува́тимеш |
| він / вона / воно | забува́є | бу́де забува́ти | забува́тиме |
| ми | забува́ємо | бу́демо забува́ти | забува́тимемо |
| ви | забува́єте | бу́дете забува́ти | забува́тимете |
| вони | забува́ють | бу́дуть забува́ти | забува́тимуть |
| Past | Imperative | Verbal adverb |
|---|---|---|
| забува́в (m) | забува́й (2sg) | забува́ючи |
| забува́ла (f) | забува́йте (2pl) | (while forgetting) |
| забува́ло (n) | хай / неха́й забува́є (3rd) | |
| забува́ли (pl) |
The imperfective has two future forms, and they are interchangeable. The analytic future (бу́ду забува́ти) is built from the future of "to be" plus the infinitive; the synthetic future (забува́тиме) fuses the same idea into a single word by glueing the old verb "to have" (-му, -меш...) onto the infinitive. Both mean "will be forgetting / will keep forgetting." The synthetic form is slightly more common in everyday Ukrainian speech.
Якщо́ не запи́шеш, ти забува́тимеш ці да́ти щора́зу.
If you don't write it down, you'll keep forgetting these dates every time.
Perfective: забу́ти
The perfective stem is забу́д-, and the stress stays on -бу́- in every single form — there is no stress shift to memorize here. Its present-shaped forms carry future meaning.
| Form | Future (= simple/perfective future) |
|---|---|
| я | забу́ду |
| ти | забу́деш |
| він / вона / воно | забу́де |
| ми | забу́демо |
| ви | забу́дете |
| вони | забу́дуть |
| Past | Imperative |
|---|---|
| забу́в (m) | забу́дь (2sg) |
| забу́ла (f) | забу́дьте (2pl) |
| забу́ло (n) | хай / неха́й забу́де (3rd) |
| забу́ли (pl) |
Usage and case government
1. Forgetting a thing — direct object in the accusative. The plain object of забу́ти/забува́ти goes in the accusative, exactly like English.
Я забу́в парасо́льку в по́їзді.
I left my umbrella on the train (lit. 'forgot the umbrella').
Не забу́дь ключі́, две́рі зачиня́ються автомати́чно.
Don't forget the keys, the door locks automatically.
2. Forgetting about something — про + accusative. When you forget about an event, a person, or an obligation, Ukrainian uses про + the accusative — the same preposition you would use after "to think about" or "to talk about." This is a frequent collocation and worth memorizing as a unit.
Через нерво́ву ро́боту я геть забу́в про день наро́дження ма́ми.
Because of the stressful job, I completely forgot about Mum's birthday.
Не забува́й про нас, коли́ перее́деш до Ки́єва.
Don't forget about us when you move to Kyiv.
3. Forgetting to do something — plus an infinitive. To forget to perform an action, attach an infinitive directly. The aspect of that infinitive is usually perfective, because you failed to complete one specific action.
Я забу́ла ви́микнути пра́ску, тому́ поверну́лася додо́му.
I forgot to turn off the iron, so I went back home.
4. The warning Не забу́дь! The negated perfective imperative is the standard Ukrainian way to say "don't forget!" — a reminder about one specific upcoming action. The imperfective Не забува́й! is gentler and broader: "don't forget (in general), keep me in mind."
Не забу́дьте ви́мкнути світло́, коли́ йти́мете.
Don't forget to switch off the light when you leave.
Забу́ти versus па́м’ятати
The natural opposite of забу́ти is па́м’ятати ("to remember, to keep in mind"), an imperfective verb describing the ongoing state of holding something in memory. Notice that "remember" maps onto an imperfective (a continuing state) while "forget completely" maps onto a perfective (a single loss). The perfective "to recall, to call to mind" is зга́дати — a different root entirely.
Я й до́сі па́м’ятаю той ве́чір, хоч мину́ло два́дцять ро́ків.
I still remember that evening, even though twenty years have passed.
Common Mistakes
1. Using the perfective for a habit. English "I keep forgetting" describes repeated action, which demands the imperfective. A perfective here sounds like a single event.
❌ Я за́вжди забу́ду паро́лі.
Incorrect — perfective забу́ду cannot express a habit.
✅ Я за́вжди забува́ю паро́лі.
I always forget passwords.
2. Dropping про before an event. English "I forgot the meeting" has a bare object, so learners drop the preposition. With events and obligations, Ukrainian wants про + accusative.
❌ Я забу́в зу́стріч.
Incorrect/odd — sounds like you mislaid the meeting as an object.
✅ Я забу́в про зу́стріч.
I forgot about the meeting.
3. Treating забу́ду as a present tense. Because забу́ду uses present-tense endings, English speakers read it as "I forget." It always means "I will forget."
❌ Я забу́ду твоє́ ім’я́ ко́жен раз.
Intending 'I forget your name every time', but забу́ду means 'I will forget' — a one-off future event, not a habit.
✅ Я забува́ю твоє́ ім’я́ ко́жен раз.
I forget your name every time.
4. Wrong stress on the imperfective. The stress is on -ва́-: забува́ю, not *забу́ваю. Misplacing it toward the root makes the word sound like a malformed perfective.
❌ Я ча́сто забу́ваю, що пообіця́в.
Incorrect stress — забу́ваю should be забува́ю.
✅ Я ча́сто забува́ю, що пообіця́в.
I often forget what I promised.
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