忘れる
wa-su-re-ru
In Japanese you forget an umbrella on the train
The picture Something that was held in the head slips out and leaves its slot empty. 忘れる slips out and leaves the slot empty; 覚える moves in and fills it.
Where the picture shows up in 忘れる
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A name slipping out
お名前を忘れてしまいました。
o-namae o wasurete shimai-mashita
I've forgotten your name.
The face is right there, but the name slot under it is blank white.
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Leaving a thing behind
電車に傘を忘れました。
densha ni kasa o wasure-mashita
I left my umbrella on the train.
Empty hands come through the gate while the umbrella stands by the seat, moving away.
Japanese says 忘れる for leaving an object somewhere, where English says 'left it'.
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A task slipping out
薬を飲むのを忘れないでください。
kusuri o nomu no o wasurenaide kudasai
Please don't forget to take your medicine.
The packet of pills sits untouched on the dinner table all evening.
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Clearing the slot on purpose
今日は仕事を忘れて休んでください。
kyō wa shigoto o wasurete yasunde kudasai
Forget about work today and rest.
A hand pushes the pile of work out of the head, the slot clears, and the shoulders drop.
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What will not slip out
あの日のことは忘れられません。
ano hi no koto wa wasure-rare-masen
I can never forget that day.
Years on, that one scene is still nailed to the middle of the head.
All of it in one picture
忘れる is one picture: a slot in the head goes empty. Let a name slip out and you cannot recall it; let the umbrella slip from your hand and stay on the train and you have left it behind; let the medicine slip out and you miss the dose; push the job out on purpose and the slot clears so you can rest; and when something refuses to slip out, you cannot forget it. In every one of these the thing that slipped out is the subject, and all that is left is the fact of the empty slot.