Where 忘 comes from
heart
- Meaning part
- 心 (“heart”)
- Sound part
- 亡 (“to die”)
How to write 忘 (wàng, “to forget”)
忘 (wàng), an HSK 2 character, means “to forget”, “to overlook” and “to neglect”. It is HSK 2 in the 2025 syllabus, up from level 1 in the 2021 standard. It pairs a meaning part, 心 (“heart”), with a sound part, 亡 (“to die”). On its own it is an HSK 2 word; it also forms 忘记 (“to forget”), 难忘 (“unforgettable”) and 遗忘 (“to forget”). Japanese reads it bou, “forget”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- wàng
- Strokes
- 7
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 心 (“heart”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
As a top-bottom character it splits into 亡 (“to die”), strokes 1–3; 心 (“heart”, the radical), strokes 4–7, written the top first.
- Vertical ㇑topdown and right
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical-curve ㇄top leftdownwards → rightwards
- Dot ㇔leftdownwards
- Flat slanted hook ㇃bottom leftdown and right → up and left
- Dot ㇔centerdown and right
- Dot ㇔rightdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 7 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| wàng fourth tone | to forget; to overlook; to neglect | — | 忘记 难忘 遗忘 备忘录 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 3 word
- Words with it
- 50 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 忘
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 忘 | wàng | to forget; to overlook HSK 2 |
| 忘记 忘記 | wàngjì | to forget HSK 3 |
| 难忘 難忘 | nánwàng | unforgettable HSK 4 |
| 遗忘 遺忘 | yíwàng | to forget; to cease to think about (sb or sth) anymore HSK 7-9 |
| 备忘录 備忘錄 | bèiwànglù | memorandum; aide-memoire HSK 7-9 |
| 念念不忘 | niànniàn-búwàng | to keep in mind constantly (idiom) HSK 7-9 |
| 见利忘义 見利忘義 | jiànlì-wàngyì | (idiom) to abandon moral principles in the pursuit of profit HSK 7-9 |
| 废寝忘食 廢寢忘食 | fèiqǐn-wàngshí | (idiom) to skip one's sleep and meals; to be completely wrapped up in… HSK 7-9 |
| 忘我 | wàngwǒ | selflessness; altruism |
| 忘本 | wàngběn | to forget one's roots |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 2, in list order: