忘记

忘记 (wàngjì) is the standard verb for 'to forget' — losing memory of something or failing to do something you intended. Use it for both losing factual knowledge (我忘记她的名字 'I forgot her name') and forgetting to do an action (我忘记关门了 'I forgot to close the door'). The single character 忘 alone is equally common in speech — 我忘了 ('I forgot') is the most natural casual form, while 忘记 sounds slightly fuller and more deliberate.

The pattern '忘记 + 了' marks completed forgetting; '忘记 + 带 / 关 / 说' marks forgetting to do the action. Cannot be used like English 'forget about it' (= 'never mind') — for that, say 算了 (suàn le). The opposite is 记得