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A1How to sayya zabýl

How to say “I forgot” in Russian

Two forms, one for each gender — and the sentences that follow it.

Quick answer

Я забы́л.

ya zabýl — забы́л for a man, забы́ла for a woman

The options

Я забы́л.I forgot. — male
Я забы́ла.I forgot. — female
Я забы́л па́спорт до́ма.I left my passport at home.
Совсе́м забы́л!I completely forgot!
Напо́мни мне, пожа́луйста.Please remind me.

забы́ть or оста́вить?

Забы́ть covers both forgetting and leaving something behind: Я забы́л телефо́н в маши́не. Оста́вить is neutral — you left it there on purpose. If you meant to leave it, use оста́вил.

Remembering again

Вспо́мнил! — I’ve remembered! По́мню — I remember (ongoing). Напо́мни — remind me. Three different verbs where English reuses “remember”, so they are worth learning as a set.

What you hear back

Ничего́ стра́шного.No harm done.
Я напо́мню.I’ll remind you.
Опя́ть?!Again?!

Typical mistakes

Я забы́л — said by a woman

Я забы́ла

The past tense carries gender.

Я по́мнил забы́ть

Я забы́л

по́мнить is to remember, not a helper verb.

Check yourself

A woman says “I forgot”:

Feminine past: забы́ла.

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