忘却 (wàng què) is a formal, literary verb meaning 'to forget'—especially in the sense of deliberately putting something aside or letting go of painful, burdensome, or unwanted memories or feelings. The first character 忘 means 'to forget', while 却 carries a nuance of 'to dismiss', 'to set aside', or 'to repel'. Together, they convey a stronger, more intentional act of forgetting than the simpler 忘 alone—often implying emotional release or psychological distance.

This word is commonly used in written Chinese, poetry, essays, and reflective speech, especially when discussing memory, loss, healing, or nostalgia. It rarely appears in casual daily conversation, where 忘了 (wàng le) or 忘记 (wàngjì) are preferred. 忘却 often pairs with abstract nouns like 痛苦 (pain), 过去 (the past), or 悲伤 (sorrow), emphasizing the speaker’s conscious effort to move on.