2 syllables: for, got. Stress on got.
/fɚˈɡɑt/
Say it backForgot is the past tense of forget, meaning to fail to remember something. It is commonly used in everyday speech to indicate a lapse of memory or a missed action. Pronounced with a stressed first syllable and a reduced second syllable, it often sounds like /fɚˈɡɑːt/ in American speech when the second syllable carries the main vowel as a schwa; in many contexts the pronunciation leans toward /fɚˈɡɔːt/ depending on dialect.
- Forgetting to reduce the first syllable: in natural speech, many speakers compress the initial into a quick /fə/ or /fɚ/; failing to do so can sound overly deliberate. - Misplacing stress: placing primary stress on the first syllable (FÓR-get) leads to a less natural feel; keep stress on the second syllable, as in /fɚˈɡɔt/. - Mispronouncing the second syllable vowel: confuse /ɔ/ with /ɒ/ or /ɔː/; practice the exact vowel that matches your dialect and ensure the tongue drops slightly to produce the correct quality. Actionable tips: record yourself, compare to a native speaker, and mimic the flow: quick /fə/ or /fɚ/ then a clear /ˈɡɔt/; practice with minimal pairs such as forgot/forgo and forgot/fro- get sequences to feel the shift.
"I forgot to bring my keys this morning."
"She forgot his name at the party and felt embarrassed."
"We forgot to set an alarm, so we overslept."
It is pronounced with two syllables: /fɚˈɡɔt/ in US English, or /fəˈɡɒt/ in some UK variants. The emphasis falls on the second syllable, but in rapid speech you may hear a quicker, reduced first syllable. Mouth position: start with a bilabial /f/ lip contact, follow with a rhotacized mid-central vowel for /ɚ/ or a short /ə/, then an aspirated /ɡ/ with back-of-tongue contact to the soft palate, and finish with a long /ɔ/ or /ɔː/ followed by a /t/. IPA reference: US /fɚˈɡɔt/; UK /fəˈɡɒt/.
Common errors include misplacing stress (saying /ˈfɔːɡɔt/ or /ˈfɒɡɔt/ with the primary stress on the first syllable) and mispronouncing the second syllable vowel (saying /fɒɡət/ or /fɚˈɡət/). Another frequent issue is not fully voicing the /ɡ/ or incorrectly using /d/ at the end as in /ˈfɔːɡɔd/. Correction: keep primary stress on the second syllable, ensure the /ɡ/ is a hard, voiced stop, and reduce the first syllable to a quick schwa or /ɚ/ depending on dialect.
In American English, you often hear /fɚˈɡɔt/ with a rhotacized first syllable and a rounded, tense second vowel. In UK English, it tends toward /fəˈɡɒt/ with a shorter, clipped first syllable and a shorter /ɒ/ in the second; non-rhoticity can color the first vowel as a schwa-ish sound. Australian English commonly renders /fəˈɡɒt/ or /fɪˈɡɒt/ with a broader, open /ɒ/ and mild rhotics depending on speaker. The main differences are vowel quality (ɚ vs ə, ɒ vs ɒː) and rhotic influence.
The challenge comes from the vowel in the second syllable and the vowel resulting from reduced first syllables in fluent speech. The /ɒ/ vs /ɔ/ contrast can be subtle depending on dialect; the rapid transition from a voiceless to a voiced stop /ɡ/ before the final /t/ can blur in casual speech. Also, the 'forgot' sequence often includes a subtle vowel reduction (ə or ɚ) before the /ɡ/ which can be hard for learners whose native language uses more stable syllables.
Forgot has the spelling that suggests /ɡ/ including a hard g sound; however, many speakers introduce a slight consonant cluster simplification in rapid speech, causing the /ɡ/ to be less audible or even glottalized in some dialects. You can train by pronouncing the full sequence /fɚˈɡɔt/ and then practice reducing to a more natural /fɚˈɡɔt/ without losing the g sound. IPA cues: ensure /ɡ/ is voiced and not omitted.
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- US: rhotic first syllable; maintain /ɚ/ in the first syllable when unstressed; keep /ɔ/ or /ɔː/ in the second syllable. - UK: more likely /fəˈɡɒt/ or /foˈɡɒt/ with shorter first syllable and crisper /ɡ/; not strongly rhotic. - AU: similar to UK but with broader vowel qualities; /fəˈɡɒt/ or /fɪˈɡɒt/; keep the final /t/ clear. IPA reminders: US /fɚˈɡɔt/; UK /fəˈɡɒt/; AU /fəˈɡɒt/. Focus on reducing the first syllable and ensuring the second syllable has a full /ɔ/ or /ɒ/ vowel before /t/.
Forgot traces its roots to old English forgetan, which combined for-, a prefix implying away or away from, with ge- (a formational prefix) and latian, from which the meaning to fail to remember emerges. The term was historically linked to not holding information in memory, evolving through Middle English as forget(en) with the common phonetic simplifications of final -an/-en in many dialects. The modern spelling “forgot” appears in the late Middle Ages as the preterite of forget, reflecting a shift in pronunciation toward a stronger, vowel-reduced second syllable in unstressed positions. By the 16th and 17th centuries, forgot was entrenched in English narrative and speech as the standard past tense form of forget, with regional pronunciations gradually diverging in the vowel of the second syllable. In contemporary usage, forgot often appears in conversational English, with a strong, stressed first syllable and a weaker, reduced second syllable; the exact vowel quality of the stressed syllable can vary by dialect, but the core consonantal sequence /fɚˈɡɔːt/ or /fɔːrˈɡɔt/ remains recognizable across varieties. First attested written instances appear in medieval glossaries and religious texts, while everyday colloquial use intensified with the growth of spoken English in urban centers, where quick speech favored reductions in unstressed syllables and altered rhoticity patterns. Today, forgetful or forgotten forms share the same tetramorphotic root, but forgot retains its role specifically as simple past tense, distinct from the separate past-participial forms that have emerged in modern usage.
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Help others use "forgot" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "forgot" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "forgot"
-ght sounds
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