<p>I think there are 3 major reasons:</p>

<ol>
<li><code>勿忘我</code> is kind of idiom that everyone use it. </li>
<li>We barely use <code>不忘我</code> and <code>别忘我</code> because they have some grammar issues. Instead, <code>不要忘了我</code> and <code>别忘了我</code> are the right expression.</li>
<li><code>勿忘我</code> much better than the other two from perspective of literature.</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-14T15:24:57.483Z
So if you were to use it in normal speech, which would you prefer?  if you wanted to say "don't forget me"
A O
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-14T19:27:38.927Z
May I ask what the grammar issue with 别忘我 is?
Philipp
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-15T02:30:05.123Z
@MattyAyOh You could say "别忘了我" or "不要忘了我" orally, they are almost the same. But don't use "不忘我" or "别忘我", native speakers don't  say it that way.
Weibo Li
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-15T02:35:40.690Z
@Philipp `别忘我` is lack of the preposition `了`. You may think that `勿忘我` is also lack of the preposition, but `勿忘我` is kind of archaism, in this case the preposition is omitted.
Weibo Li
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-15T07:16:10.560Z
@WeiboLi Since when is 了 a preposition? I have seen it described as modal (or other) particle 语气词/助词 or aspect marker 体标记, but not as a preposition 介词/前置词.
Philipp
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-15T07:16:47.393Z
@WeiboLi But terminological issues aside, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with 别忘我, apart from it sounding very short. It could be made more pleasing to the ear by adding 了 or 吧, of course, but is not incorrect as it is. Baidu has about 2.5 Million hits for "别忘了我" and about 1.5Million hits for "别忘我".
Philipp
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-15T07:37:11.590Z
@Philipp I don't think Baidu hit count is a powerful proof. There do exist some sentences that contains the three characters  `别忘我`, but they are only some particular scenarios.  As a native speaker I dare say that using `别忘我` to express the meaning of `don't forget me` sounds really weird.
Weibo Li
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-14T13:20:20.840Z
2015-09-14T13:38:23.143Z
2015-09-14T13:38:23.143Z
Weibo Li
<p>Is there any reason why 勿忘我 seems to be used more?</p>

<p>are there specific scenarios or reasons why you would say 不忘我 or 别忘我 instead?</p>

<word-choice>
When to use 勿忘我 vs 不忘我 vs 别忘我
# When to use 勿忘我 vs 不忘我 vs 别忘我

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-09-14)

Is there any reason why 勿忘我 seems to be used more?

are there specific scenarios or reasons why you would say 不忘我 or 别忘我 instead?

**Tags:** word-choice


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-09-14. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

I think there are 3 major reasons:

1. `勿忘我` is kind of idiom that everyone use it.
2. We barely use `不忘我` and `别忘我` because they have some grammar issues. Instead, `不要忘了我` and `别忘了我` are the right expression.
3. `勿忘我` much better than the other two from perspective of literature.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So if you were to use it in normal speech, which would you prefer?  if you wanted to say "don't forget me"  
> **username_2**: May I ask what the grammar issue with 别忘我 is?  
> **username_1**: @MattyAyOh You could say "别忘了我" or "不要忘了我" orally, they are almost the same. But don't use "不忘我" or "别忘我", native speakers don't  say it that way.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 `别忘我` is lack of the preposition `了`. You may think that `勿忘我` is also lack of the preposition, but `勿忘我` is kind of archaism, in this case the preposition is omitted.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 Since when is 了 a preposition? I have seen it described as modal (or other) particle 语气词/助词 or aspect marker 体标记, but not as a preposition 介词/前置词.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 But terminological issues aside, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with 别忘我, apart from it sounding very short. It could be made more pleasing to the ear by adding 了 or 吧, of course, but is not incorrect as it is. Baidu has about 2.5 Million hits for "别忘了我" and about 1.5Million hits for "别忘我".  
> **username_1**: @username_2 I don't think Baidu hit count is a powerful proof. There do exist some sentences that contains the three characters  `别忘我`, but they are only some particular scenarios.  As a native speaker I dare say that using `别忘我` to express the meaning of `don't forget me` sounds really weird.  

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