TongTong
Sign in

忘记 (wàng jì) — to forget

Definition

忘记 means 'to forget' something — concrete or simple things in everyday talk. 忘 is the bare single-character form used the same way; 遗忘 is formal/written, for abstract or weighty matters. Its opposite is 记得.

verb
to forget
Easily confused

Examples

  • 忘记。
    Wǒ wàng jì dài shū le.
    I forgot to bring my book.
  • 忘记。
    Tā wàng jì le wǒ de míng zì.
    She forgot my name.
  • 忘记。
    Bú yào wàng jì dǎ diàn huà.
    Don't forget to make a phone call.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

忘wàngforget
记jìremember

The sense of forget comes from 忘; 记 is redundant here and does not add remember.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
亡
亡wáng忘wàng
Same sound today

忘 combines 亡, which gives the sound, with 心 (“heart”), showing the sense is about the heart or mind.

Open 忘 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsThinking & Cognition2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 3 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.