忘记 (wàng jì) is a compound verb meaning 'to forget' — the loss or failure to recall information, an event, a person, or a task. The character 忘 (wàng) means 'to lose from memory' or 'to neglect', while 记 (jì) means 'to remember' or 'to record'. Together, they form a verb with a strong sense of unintentional mental omission — not merely failing to recall, but actively losing something previously known or intended. It’s commonly used in daily life for forgotten appointments, names, passwords, or promises.

This verb functions like most Chinese action verbs: it can take objects directly (e.g., 忘记密码), appear in perfective aspect with 了 (e.g., 我忘记了), and be negated with 没 (e.g., 我没忘记). It often carries mild regret or apology, especially in spoken Chinese, and is more neutral and common than literary alternatives like 遗忘. Unlike English 'forget', it rarely implies permanent loss — context determines whether the forgetting is temporary or significant.