忘掉

• Pinyin: wàng diào
• Hanzi breakdown: 忘 = 亡 (perish) + 心 (heart) — to lose from the heart; 掉 = 扌(hand) + 卓 (outstanding, phonetic) — to drop, to discard

Meaning

To forget completely; to put out of one's mind. To deliberately or unintentionally cease to remember something.

More dynamic than 忘记 — 忘掉 implies a completive aspect (the forgetting is done, finished). Used both for accidental forgetting (I completely forgot) and deliberate forgetting (I want to put this behind me). The 掉 complement emphasises that the memory is gone or intentionally discarded.

Examples

1. 他忘掉了所有痛苦的记忆，重新开始了新的生活。 He put all his painful memories behind him and started his life over.
2. 我把钥匙忘掉在家里了，只好又跑回去取。 I completely forgot my keys at home and had to run back to get them.
3. 过去的事就让它过去吧，学会忘掉才能真正释怀。 Let the past go — learning to forget is the only way to truly find peace.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, emotion, memory

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 把那件事忘掉吧，不值得你这么在意。(Just forget about that thing — it's not worth worrying about.)
• 我把密码忘掉了，需要重新设置。(I've completely forgotten the password and need to reset it.)

Don't Say

• 混淆忘掉和忘记的细微差别 — 忘掉 emphasises completeness of forgetting (often intentional or physical disposal); 忘记 is more neutral and covers all types of forgetting

Origin & History

Compound of 忘 (to forget) + 掉 (resultative complement indicating completion or disposal). Together: to forget away — to have forgotten completely or to discard from memory.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal