2 syllables: for, get. Stress on get.
/fɚˈɡɛt/
Say it backForget means to fail to remember something or to stop considering something due to lack of attention or loss of interest. It can also indicate disregard or dismissal of information, or to cease thinking about a prior intention. In everyday use, it often suggests an unintentional lapse or a strategic choice not to dwell on a detail.
"I forgot my keys at home and had to go back."
"Don’t forget to turn off the oven before you leave."
"She forgot the deadline and missed the submission time."
You pronounce forget as /fɚˈɡɛt/ in US English, with a schwa in the first syllable and primary stress on the second syllable. In careful speech you can hear [fɚ-ɡɛt], and in faster speech the vowel may reduce slightly so it sounds like [fɚɡɛt]. In UK English it’s /fəˈɡe(t)/ with a short /ə/ in the first syllable and stress on the second syllable as well. In Australian speech you’ll hear /fəˈɡɛt/ with a similar pattern to UK, but vowel qualities can shift slightly with Australian vowel inventories.
Common errors include pronouncing the second syllable with a tense /eɪ/ or not releasing the final /t/ clearly (e.g., saying /fəˈɡeɪt/ or /fəˈɡɛt̚/ with a clipped end). The first syllable’s schwa should be relaxed rather than reduced to a near-consonant. Another mistake is inserting an extra syllable (fo-Get). Correction: keep the second syllable as /ɡɛt/ with a relaxed /ə/ in the first syllable and a clean /t/ release, optionally using a quick alveolar tap in casual American speech.
In US English you’ll typically hear the rhotic /ɚ/ in the first syllable and clear /t/ at the end, weakly released in fast speech. UK English tends toward a shorter /ə/ in the first syllable with non-rhoticity affecting the following consonant’s perceived strength; many speakers have a glottal stop feature in quick speech. Australian English aligns with non-rhotic tendencies but often preserves a slightly longer /ɜː/ or /e/ quality in the second syllable and a crisp final /t/. All share primary stress on the second syllable: for-GET.
The difficulty lies in the subtle vowel in the first syllable and the final t-closure. The first syllable uses a reduced vowel (schwa /ɚ) in US and /ə/ in UK, which can blur with surrounding sounds in fluent speech. The consonant cluster /ɡ/ + /t/ at the end can become a held stop or a flap, especially in American casual speech. Achieving precise mouth positioning—relaxed lips for /ɚ/ and a crisp alveolar closure for /t/—helps produce a clear, natural pronunciation.
Yes. The word relies on subtle vowel reduction in the first syllable and a strong, stressed second syllable, making the /ɡ/ and /t/ placement critical. The /ɡ/ must be clearly released from the velar position into a final alveolar /t/. In rapid speech, the final /t/ can be flapped or even nullified, which alters the perceived pronunciation. Emphasizing the transition between the vowels and the alveolar stop strengthens naturalness.
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Forget derives from the Old English forgieten, past participle of forgietan, which means to lose the memory of or to neglect. Forgietan is a compound of for- (completely, away) and ge- (an intensive prefix) plus gietan (to give, yield) from the Proto-Germanic *ga-? and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots related to ‘to yield or to give up.’ Over time, the sense broadened from ‘to lose memory of something’ to ‘to fail to think of or recall,’ and then to general disengagement or disregard. The Middle English form was forgyt, evolving to forget in Early Modern English as spelling and pronunciation shifted. The noun forgetfulness is attested in the 14th century, retaining the essential sense of lapse in memory. In contemporary usage, forget often collocates with everyday verbs of action (forget to, forget about), while figurative uses broaden into neglect or abandonment (forget a rule, forget one’s duties). The semantic trajectory shows an intensification of the idea of losing memory into a broader cognitive lapse, a pattern common to many Germanic languages where a root meaning of “to leave behind” is extended to memory and attention. The word is highly productive in phrasal verb combinations (forget about, forget it), keeping its core meaning across contexts.
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Words that rhyme with "forget"
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