• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “to fly out of the head,” this is the most common way to say that something slipped your mind or that you suddenly forgot something. Whether it’s a name, an appointment, or a grocery item, the phrase perfectly captures the feeling of a thought escaping before you could grab it. It is the natural response when someone asks “Did you remember to…?” and you didn’t.

  Vocabulary

  • wylecieć — to fly out (perfective)
  • głowa — head
  • zapomnieć — to forget

  Grammar note

  The preposition 'z' (out of/from) triggers the genitive case, which is why 'głowa' becomes 'głowy.' Since forgetting is usually a sudden, finished event, the perfective verb 'wylecieć' is almost always used.

  Cultural context

  This is a universal, polite, and very common expression. It’s much more evocative than the simple verb 'zapomnieć' and sounds very natural in casual conversation.

  Beginner

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!