What does it mean word for word?
忘れちゃった is a spoken contraction of 忘れてしまった (wasurete shimatta). The ending chatta shows that the forgetting was unintentional or regrettable.
Which one should you use?
The plain form 忘れた (wasureta) simply states that you forgot, without the sense of regret. 忘れました is the formal way to say I forgot, and 失念しました is another formal way, heard in business settings. 思い出せませんでした means I couldn't recall.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
忘れちゃった is highly casual. Use it with friends, family or people of lower social status rather than superiors.
How does it change in a sentence?
The full form 忘れてしまった uses the te form of the verb plus shimatta, which adds a feeling of regret or accident. In casual speech this shrinks to 忘れちゃった.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced wasurechatta. The small っ doubles the t sound, so pause briefly before it.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid 忘れちゃった with your boss or a teacher. In those situations say すみません、忘れました instead.
When do people say it?
When apologizing for forgetting, adding すみません at the beginning or end conveys sincerity, as in すみません、忘れました.
Did you know?
- The formal term 失念しました comes from the word 失 meaning 'loss' and 念 meaning 'thought'. It literally describes the act of losing a thought from one's mind.
- In Japanese, the concept of a 'forgotten item' is a standard noun 忘れ物 (wasuremono), treating the object as a category of thing rather than just a result of an action.
- If you cannot pull a specific memory from your mind, Japanese uses a different verb, 思い出せませんでした ('omoidasemasen deshita'), rather than the standard verb for forgetting.
Examples in context
- ごめん、忘れちゃった。Sorry, I forgot.Here ごめん softens the admission, giving sorry, I forgot.Tatoeba #1556116 by bunbuku, translation #1110451 by Scott
- 家に筆箱忘れちゃった。I forgot my pencil case at home.This sentence uses 忘れちゃった for leaving a pencil case at home.Tatoeba #8612386 by small_snow, translation #4351102 by AlanF_US
- 枕買うの忘れちゃった。I forgot to buy a pillow.Here 忘れちゃった follows a verb to say you forgot to buy something.Tatoeba #11870849 by small_snow, translation #10798703 by ddnktr
- 大切な書類を忘れましたI forgot an important document.
- 会議の時間を思い出せませんでしたI couldn't remember the meeting time.
- 電話番号を失念しましたI forgot the phone number.
- 昨日の約束を忘れちゃったI forgot about yesterday's promise.
- 鍵を忘れてしまったI completely forgot the keys.
- 映画のチケットを忘れちゃった。I ended up forgetting the movie tickets.
- 宿題を忘れてしまった。I completely forgot the homework.
- 時間を忘れちゃったI forgot the time.
- 27 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Himari are talking at a cafe.
- 健太 Kenta傘、持ってくの忘れちゃった。Kasa, motteku no wasurechatta.I forgot to bring my umbrella.
- 陽葵 Himari大丈夫？予備があるよ。Daijoubu? Yobi ga aru yo.Are you okay? I have a spare.
- 健太 Kenta本当？助かるよ。Hontou? Tasukaru yo.Really? That helps a lot.
- 陽葵 Himari気にしないで。Ki ni shinaide.Don't worry about it.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
