Inklingo

How to Say "i forgot" in Spanish

The Spanish word for “i forgot” is “olvidé” — A1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.

English → SpanishA1
Verb (Preterite Tense)A1
a past, completed action
A child walking away from a park bench stops and looks back with a startled expression at a solitary, forgotten red lunchbox sitting on the bench.

Examples

¡Lo siento! Olvidé completamente tu cumpleaños.

I'm sorry! I completely forgot your birthday.

Salí de la casa tan rápido que olvidé mis llaves.

I left the house so quickly that I forgot my keys.

Olvidé el asunto después de que terminamos la reunión.

I forgot about the issue after we finished the meeting.

Action in the Past

"Olvidé" uses the preterite tense, which means the act of forgetting happened at a specific, defined time and is finished.

Focus on the Subject ('I')

Since this is the 'yo' form, the speaker is directly responsible for the forgetting (e.g., 'I forgot the keys').

Using the Imperfect

Mistake: “Usar 'olvidaba' when meaning 'I forgot' once.”

Correction: Use 'olvidé' for a single, sudden moment of forgetting. 'Olvidaba' would mean 'I used to forget regularly' or 'I was forgetting.'

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