忘れます（わすれます、wasuremaす）
- to forget

The Japanese verb 忘れます (わすれます) means "to forget." It refers to the act of losing the memory of something, not being able to recall something, or neglecting to do something. It can apply to forgetting names, appointments, tasks, or even feelings. The meaning is about something slipping from your memory.

⚫︎宿題を忘れました。 Translation: I forgot my homework. ⚫︎彼の名前を忘れてしまいました。 Translation: I forgot his name. ⚫︎鍵を忘れてしまいました。 Translation: I forgot my keys.

忘れます is a versatile verb used in various contexts. ⚫︎It's commonly used to express forgetting facts or information. ⚫︎It can also be used to express forgetting to do something, like an appointment or a task. ⚫︎The polite form is 忘れます with ます, becoming 忘れます. The past tense 忘れた or the polite past tense 忘れました are often used to indicate something has already been forgotten. ⚫︎It's generally straightforward to use. The subject is usually implied.

忘れます is written in: ⚫︎Hiragana: わすれます ⚫︎Kanji: 忘れます ⚫︎The okurigana (the suffix hiragana) is always れます. There are no other variations in okurigana.

There aren't exact direct synonyms in the same sense, but other ways to say "to forget" are: ⚫︎失念する(しつねんする): This is a more formal way to say to forget. ⚫︎思い出す(おもいだす) (to remember) is the opposite of forgetting, but sometimes used to mean "to finally remember after a while."

⚫︎覚える(おぼえる): to remember/to memorize ⚫︎思い出す(おもいだす): to remember/to recall

約束を忘れて、遅刻してしまいました。 ・Translation: I forgot the appointment and was late. ・Explanation: The sentence expresses forgetting a promise (appointment) and the resulting consequence of being late. The past tense 忘れて is used because the forgetting happened earlier.

大事なことを忘れないように、メモしておきましょう。 ・Translation: Let's make a note so that we don't forget important things. ・Explanation: The sentence advises taking notes to avoid forgetting important matters. The negative form 忘れないように is used to prevent the action of forgetting.

The kanji 忘 combines the radical 亡 (bou, meaning death or loss) and 心 (kokoro, meaning heart or mind). It figuratively represents "the heart that is lost" or "the mind that is absent," thus illustrating the concept of forgetting. The word's origins are deeply rooted in expressing loss of memory.