Forget in Different Languages
Discover 'Forget' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'forget' holds a significant place in our vocabulary, as it allows us to express the act of failing to remember something or someone. This simple word carries a lot of weight, as it can signify a temporary lapse in memory or a more permanent form of forgetfulness. Forgetting can also have cultural implications, as certain traditions and customs revolve around remembering and honoring ancestors or historical events.
Moreover, understanding the translation of 'forget' in different languages can provide insight into how other cultures view and cope with forgetfulness. For instance, in Spanish, 'forget' is 'olvidar,' while in French, it's 'oublier.' These translations not only differ in sound and spelling but also reflect the unique perspectives and attitudes of each language's respective culture.
So, whether you're traveling to a foreign country and want to communicate your forgetfulness effectively, or you're simply interested in exploring the nuances of language and culture, learning the translation of 'forget' in different languages can be a fascinating and rewarding endeavor.
Forget
Forget in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | vergeet | ||
| The word "vergeet" comes from the Dutch word "vergeten", which also means "to forget". The word "vergeet" can also mean "to ignore" or "to neglect" | |||
| Amharic | መርሳት | ||
| The word "መርሳት" can also mean "to neglect" or "to ignore". | |||
| Hausa | manta | ||
| The word "manta" can also mean "mistake" or "error". | |||
| Igbo | ichefu | ||
| Ichefu is derived from the verb 'chefu' which means 'to leave behind', 'to abandon', or 'to forsake'. | |||
| Malagasy | adinoy | ||
| "Adinoy" originally meant "lost the way" and may have referred to a physical space rather than a mental state. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | kuyiwala | ||
| "Kuyiwa" is also a name used for a particular type of drum. | |||
| Shona | kanganwa | ||
| The word "kanganwa" in Shona can also mean "to put something away", "to save for later", or "to store for future use." | |||
| Somali | illoobi | ||
| Illoobi also means 'to ignore' or 'to neglect' in Somali. | |||
| Sesotho | lebala | ||
| Lebala is also used to mean "hide" or "conceal" in Sesotho. | |||
| Swahili | sahau | ||
| Sahau is also used figuratively to mean "ignore" or "disregard". | |||
| Xhosa | libala | ||
| The word "libala" in Xhosa can also refer to a type of tree, specifically the "Albizia adianthifolia". This tree is known for its beautiful pink flowers and its wood, which is used to make furniture. | |||
| Yoruba | gbagbe | ||
| The Yoruba word "gbagbe" can also mean "to neglect" or "to abandon". | |||
| Zulu | khohlwa | ||
| The word 'khohlwa', meaning 'forget' in Zulu, originates from the Bantu root '-kwel-' meaning 'to hide' or 'conceal', implying the act of putting something out of sight or mind. | |||
| Bambara | ka ɲina | ||
| Ewe | ŋlᴐe be | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ibagirwa | ||
| Lingala | kobosana | ||
| Luganda | okweerabira | ||
| Sepedi | lebala | ||
| Twi (Akan) | werɛ firi | ||
Forget in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ننسى | ||
| In Arabic, the word "ننسى" also means "lose sight of" or "become oblivious to" something. | |||
| Hebrew | לשכוח | ||
| The Hebrew word 'lishkochah' (לשכוח) is derived from the root 'shachach' (שכח), which means 'to be careless or negligent'. | |||
| Pashto | هیرول | ||
| The Pashto word "هیرول" can also mean "to neglect" or "to abandon". | |||
| Arabic | ننسى | ||
| In Arabic, the word "ننسى" also means "lose sight of" or "become oblivious to" something. | |||
Forget in Western European Languages
| Albanian | harroj | ||
| The Albanian word 'harroj' may have originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *kwer- (to turn, bend) or the Illyrian word 'harre' (to leave behind). | |||
| Basque | ahaztu | ||
| The Basque word "ahaztu" is derived from the Proto-Basque form "*akhatu", meaning "to lose" or "to miss". | |||
| Catalan | oblidar | ||
| The word 'oblidar' in Catalan derives from the Latin verb 'oblitus', meaning 'forgotten' or 'buried in water' | |||
| Croatian | zaboraviti | ||
| The verb "zaboraviti" in Croatian is derived from the Slavic verb "boriti", meaning "to fight", and the prefix "za-", implying "beyond" or "past", thus conveying the idea of "fighting past" or "overcoming" something. | |||
| Danish | glemme | ||
| The Danish word "glemme" is thought to be related to the Scandinavian words meaning "darkness, fog". | |||
| Dutch | vergeten | ||
| The Dutch word "vergeten" not only means "to forget," but also "to give away"} | |||
| English | forget | ||
| Forget derives from Old English forgietan, meaning "to lose awareness of." | |||
| French | oublier | ||
| The French verb 'oublier' comes from the Latin word 'oblitus', meaning 'covered' or 'hidden'. | |||
| Frisian | ferjitte | ||
| The Frisian word "ferjitte" (forget) originally meant "to go astray," and is related to the Dutch "verdwalen" and the English "wander." | |||
| Galician | esquecer | ||
| The verb "esquecer" in Galician shares its origin with the Latin word "exsuccus" (shake out), which also gave rise to the English word "succulent". | |||
| German | vergessen | ||
| Vergessen, meaning "forget," derives from Old High German "fargezzan," "to let go." | |||
| Icelandic | gleyma | ||
| Gleyma derives from an Old Norse word that originally meant 'to hide' but later acquired the meaning of 'to forget' in Icelandic. | |||
| Irish | déan dearmad | ||
| The phrase 'déan dearmad' translates to 'make forgotten' in Irish, and is used to describe the act of forgetting something | |||
| Italian | dimenticare | ||
| The word "dimenticare" derives from the Latin "di-mentire," meaning "to not remember." | |||
| Luxembourgish | vergiessen | ||
| The word "vergiessen" in Luxembourgish is derived from the Old High German word "fargaz", meaning "to let go" or "to abandon". | |||
| Maltese | tinsa | ||
| The word "tinsa" in Maltese is derived from the Arabic word "nasya" meaning "to forget". | |||
| Norwegian | glemme | ||
| The Norwegian word "glemme" is cognate with the English word "gleam," suggesting a possible connection between forgetting and the fading of light. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | esqueço | ||
| Esquecer has the same etymology as | |||
| Scots Gaelic | dìochuimhnich | ||
| The Gaelic word for "forget" is thought to come from the Old Irish word "díthchímnidh," meaning "to lose the mind." | |||
| Spanish | olvidar | ||
| In addition to meaning "to forget," the word "olvidar" can mean "to ignore" or "to overlook" in Spanish. | |||
| Swedish | glömma | ||
| The Swedish word "glömma" is derived from the Old Norse word "gleyma", meaning "to lose sight of" or "to ignore". | |||
| Welsh | anghofio | ||
| The word 'anghofio' may also refer to 'leaving behind' or 'being left behind', with the root 'anghof' meaning 'out of' or 'away from' something. | |||
Forget in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | забыць | ||
| The word | |||
| Bosnian | zaboraviti | ||
| The word 'zaboraviti' is derived from the Proto-Slavic root '*bor-/*ber-' meaning 'to take, to seize' | |||
| Bulgarian | забрави | ||
| Bulgarian "забрави" also means "to bury" in an ancient sense. | |||
| Czech | zapomenout | ||
| The word "zapomenout" is derived from the Proto-Slavic verb "pomniti" (to remember), and its original meaning was "to miss something". | |||
| Estonian | unusta | ||
| The Estonian word “unusta” comes from “uni”, meaning sleep; to “unusta” is to lose memory as one does when waking from sleep. | |||
| Finnish | unohtaa | ||
| In Finnish, the word "unohtaa" is a cognate of "unen" (dream), perhaps suggesting the forgotten as "falling asleep from the mind's eye." | |||
| Hungarian | elfelejt | ||
| The verb "elfelejt" in Hungarian is derived from the verb "elveszít" ("lose"), and originally meant "to cause something to be lost". | |||
| Latvian | aizmirst | ||
| The etymology of "aizmirst" is linked to the Sanskrit word "smrti," meaning "memory." | |||
| Lithuanian | pamiršk | ||
| The cognate 'mirti' means 'die' which may stem from Indo-European root *mer- 'to die' or *merg- 'to dip' (as in water). | |||
| Macedonian | заборави | ||
| The word ‘заборави’ can also mean ‘to ignore’, ‘to turn a blind eye to’, or ‘to disregard’. | |||
| Polish | zapomnieć | ||
| While "zapomnieć" does not directly translate to "forgetful," it can be used to refer to someone who has a poor memory | |||
| Romanian | a uita | ||
| The word "a uita" in Romanian is derived from the Latin "oblitus", meaning "covered over, forgotten". | |||
| Russian | забыть | ||
| The verb "забыть" can also be used in Russian to refer to an action that was intentionally avoided, such as "забыть выключить свет" ("to forget to turn off the light"). | |||
| Serbian | заборави | ||
| The word 'заборави' is derived from the Old Slavic word 'забыти', meaning 'to hide'. | |||
| Slovak | zabudni | ||
| The word 'zabudni' may also be used to signify 'disregard' or 'omit'. | |||
| Slovenian | pozabi | ||
| Pozabi comes from the Proto-Slavic *po-zъbъ-ti, meaning “to forget,” which comes from *zъbъ, meaning “tooth,” suggesting the idea of “gnawing away at something until it is gone.” | |||
| Ukrainian | забути | ||
| "Забути" in Ukrainian also means to neglect or ignore, and is related to the word "бути" (to be). | |||
Forget in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ভুলে যাও | ||
| The Bengali word "ভুলে যাও" (bhuliye jaao) is related to the Sanskrit word "विस्मृति" (vismrti), meaning "forgetfulness" or "oblivion." | |||
| Gujarati | ભૂલી જાઓ | ||
| The Gujarati verb | |||
| Hindi | भूल जाओ | ||
| The Hindi word "भूल जाओ" does not mean to forget something forever, but rather to momentarily set it aside. | |||
| Kannada | ಮರೆತುಬಿಡಿ | ||
| The word 'ಮರೆತುಬಿಡಿ' is derived from the root 'ಮರೆ' (forget) and the suffix '-ಬಿಡಿ' (leave). It can also mean 'to ignore', 'to disregard', or 'to overlook'. | |||
| Malayalam | മറക്കരുത് | ||
| The word 'മറക്കരുത്' can also mean 'to avoid', 'to evade', or 'to neglect' in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | विसरणे | ||
| The word "विसरणे" comes from the root "विसृ" which means "to let go", and also means "to leave behind"} | |||
| Nepali | बिर्सनु | ||
| The word "बिर्सनु" comes from the Sanskrit word "विस्मरण" (vismarana), meaning "to forget" or "to lose remembrance". | |||
| Punjabi | ਭੁੱਲਣਾ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අමතක කරනවා | ||
| Tamil | மறந்து விடுங்கள் | ||
| Telugu | మర్చిపో | ||
| The word "మర్చిపో" ("forget") in Telugu also figuratively means "to put back into a container", e.g., putting an umbrella back into an umbrella stand. | |||
| Urdu | بھول جاؤ | ||
Forget in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 忘记 | ||
| The character 忘 (forget) is composed of two parts: the radical 亡 (die) and the phonetic component 忘 (lose). | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 忘記 | ||
| 忘記 is also used in the context of losing someone or something, as in 失去 (to lose). | |||
| Japanese | 忘れる | ||
| In Japanese, "忘れる" (wasureru) literally means "to lose memory," implying a physical loss rather than a mental lapse. | |||
| Korean | 잊다 | ||
| The word 잊다 in Korean can also mean "to leave behind" or "to abandon". | |||
| Mongolian | март | ||
| The Mongolian word "март" is possibly derived from the Old Uyghur word "mart" meaning "not to know" or "to be ignorant". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မေ့သွားတယ် | ||
Forget in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | lupa | ||
| The Indonesian word "lupa" comes from the Proto-Austronesian root word *lupa or *lupaŋ, which also means "to forget" in many other Austronesian languages. | |||
| Javanese | lali | ||
| In Javanese, "lali" can also refer to "losing track of time" or "being absent-minded." | |||
| Khmer | ភ្លេច | ||
| ភ្លេច may also mean “to be unconscious” and is derived from the Thai word “pleuk”. | |||
| Lao | ລືມ | ||
| The word ລືມ also means "disappear" in Lao, especially in the context of things vanishing without a trace. | |||
| Malay | lupa | ||
| The Malay word "lupa" has the same origin as the Javanese word "ilup", which means "to fade away" or "to disappear." | |||
| Thai | ลืม | ||
| The word "ลืม" (forget) derives from Old Mon-Khmer *lum, which also means "to extinguish" or "to disappear". | |||
| Vietnamese | quên | ||
| Although it now means "to forget," "quên" originally meant "to put something down" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kalimutan | ||
Forget in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | unut | ||
| The word "unut" is also used in Azerbaijani to mean "to pass out" or "to faint". | |||
| Kazakh | ұмыту | ||
| The Kazakh word "ұмыту" derives from the Proto-Turkic root "* unut-," which also means "to die". | |||
| Kyrgyz | унут | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "унут" can also mean "a hole in the ground". | |||
| Tajik | фаромӯш кунед | ||
| The word "фаромӯш кунед" (forget) in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "فراموش" (faramush), which means "to be forgotten" or "to be out of mind". | |||
| Turkmen | ýatdan çykar | ||
| Uzbek | unut | ||
| The Russian word “забыть” (“forget”) appeared in the Uzbek language as the verb “unut”, which means “forget” in Russian and has the same etymology. | |||
| Uyghur | ئۇنتۇپ كەت | ||
Forget in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | poina | ||
| The word "poina" can also mean "to be unconscious, senseless, or without sensation" in Hawaiian. | |||
| Maori | wareware | ||
| The word 'wareware' can also mean 'disregard' or 'neglect', emphasizing the deliberate nature of forgetting. | |||
| Samoan | galo | ||
| In Samoan, "galo" can also mean "to slip or slide". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kalimutan | ||
| "Kalimutan" originated from the word "limot," which is the root word for "forget." It can also mean "to cast off" or "to ignore." | |||
Forget in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | armaña | ||
| Guarani | hesarái | ||
Forget in International Languages
| Esperanto | forgesu | ||
| The Esperanto word 'forgesi' derives from the Latin 'fors', meaning 'chance' or 'lot', and is akin to the French 'oublier' ('forget'). | |||
| Latin | obliviscatur | ||
| The verb obliviscatur derives from "ob" (over, against, above) and "liviscor" (to become discolored). | |||
Forget in Others Languages
| Greek | ξεχνάμε | ||
| "ξεχνάω" can also be used to refer to | |||
| Hmong | hnov qab | ||
| Hnov qab literally means "lose one's soul." | |||
| Kurdish | jibîrkirin | ||
| The word 'jibîrkirin' is derived from the Kurdish word 'bîr' (memory) and the suffix '-kirin' (to make), suggesting the act of causing something to be forgotten. | |||
| Turkish | unutmak | ||
| The Turkish word "unutmak" not only means "forget", but also "to untie, to loosen, to unlock, to open" in its archaic sense. | |||
| Xhosa | libala | ||
| The word "libala" in Xhosa can also refer to a type of tree, specifically the "Albizia adianthifolia". This tree is known for its beautiful pink flowers and its wood, which is used to make furniture. | |||
| Yiddish | פאַרגעסן | ||
| The word "פאַרגעסן" in Yiddish can also mean "to forgive"} | |||
| Zulu | khohlwa | ||
| The word 'khohlwa', meaning 'forget' in Zulu, originates from the Bantu root '-kwel-' meaning 'to hide' or 'conceal', implying the act of putting something out of sight or mind. | |||
| Assamese | পাহৰা | ||
| Aymara | armaña | ||
| Bhojpuri | भुलल | ||
| Dhivehi | ހަނދާންނެތުން | ||
| Dogri | भुल्लना | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kalimutan | ||
| Guarani | hesarái | ||
| Ilocano | lipaten | ||
| Krio | fɔgɛt | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لەبیرکردن | ||
| Maithili | बिसरि जाउ | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯀꯥꯎꯕ | ||
| Mizo | theihnghilh | ||
| Oromo | irraanfachuu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଭୁଲିଯାଅ | | ||
| Quechua | qunqay | ||
| Sanskrit | विस्मृत | ||
| Tatar | оныт | ||
| Tigrinya | ረስዕ | ||
| Tsonga | rivala | ||