忘れる

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 名前を忘れました。▶ —
   I forgot the name.
2. 電車に傘を忘れた。▶ —
   I left my umbrella on the train.

Collocations

Mnemonic

わすれる — 忘れる, Yamato. An ichidan verb. The opposite of 覚える oboeru. The kanji 忘 is 亡 (to lose) + 心 (heart) ── 'to lose from the heart' = to forget. One verb holds two kinds of 'forgetting' ── fading from memory: 名前を忘れる (forget a name), 約束を忘れる (forget a promise). leaving behind: 電車に傘を忘れる (leave an umbrella on the train). Korean splits 'forget' and 'leave behind', but Japanese lets 忘れる carry both the forgetting of the mind and the forgetting of objects. The noun form 忘れ物 wasuremono ('a forgotten thing' = lost property) is a fixture of station and train announcements. The Korean reading mang is sister to the onyomi ぼう ── 忘年会 bounenkai (year-end party = a gathering to forget the year).

Quick check

1. "I left my bag on the train" — natural Japanese?

   • 電車にかばんを忘れました (correct, ~に for location of leaving)
   • 電車で (action venue, less natural for this nuance)
   • 落としました (= "dropped", not the same)
   • 電車を (wrong particle)