verb
to forget, to forget about
A2
vergessen means 'to forget' or 'to forget about'. It is a strong (irregular) verb: present vowel change e→i (du/er: vergisst), Präteritum vergaß, Partizip II vergessen. Uses haben as auxiliary. Transitive: etwas (Acc.) vergessen; also common construction: vergessen zu + infinitive. Not reflexive.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Ich habe ganz vergessen, dass heute dein Geburtstag ist.
I completely forgot that today is your birthday.
Ich vergesse oft meinen Schlüssel.
I often forget my key.
Hast du vergessen, mich anzurufen?
Did you forget to call me?
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
Imagine a person placing a sticky note on a door, then the note flies away — the memory is gone: you 'vergessen' it.
sounds a bit like 'ver-GESS-en' — think of 'guess' (GESS) slipping from your mind when you forget something.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
Common transitive verb taking a direct object (etwas vergessen). Uses haben as auxiliary in perfect tenses. There is a reflexive idiomatic use 'sich vergessen' meaning 'to lose one's self-control' or 'to forget oneself'. Present tense shows vowel change (vergessen → du vergisst).