The word 忘记 is formed through the conceptual fusion of two complementary characters: 忘 (wàng), which means "to forget" or "to neglect", and 记 (jì), which means "to remember" or "to record". Its formation is not merely additive but rather operates on a logic of internal contradiction or erasure, where the action of 记 ("remembering") becomes the specific object being acted upon by 忘 ("forgetting"). Thus, the compound semantically encapsulates the complete process or state of "causing a memory to be lost", creating a single, integrated concept of "to forget" that is more vivid and complete than either character alone.