Omettre or oublier: leave out a detail or forget it?

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Compare omettre and oublier with a missing attachment, a shortened report and a forgotten name. Practise de + infinitive and the forms omis and oublié.

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In short

Omettre means to omit or leave out; oublier means to forget and also covers leaving something out by mistake. Omettre is more formal and focuses on the missing detail or action. The omission can be deliberate or accidental.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A person pauses at a French apartment doorway, noticing a plain closed folder left on a small hall table beside a bag, no writing.
The forgotten folder gives oublier a concrete context. Illustration: Atelier

What is the difference between omettre and oublier?

omettreto omit, leave out

Focus: what is missing from a text or action

omettre quelque chose / omettre de + infinitif

Le message omet le numéro de dossier.
The message leaves out the file number.

J’ai omis de joindre le document.
I omitted to attach the document.

oublierto forget

Focus: a memory lapse or oversight

oublier quelque chose / oublier de + infinitif

J’ai oublié le numéro de dossier.
I’ve forgotten the file number.

J’ai oublié de joindre le document.
I forgot to attach the document.

In the attachment examples, the result is the same: the document is missing. J’ai oublié de… is the everyday way to explain your oversight. J’ai omis de… fits a more formal message and puts the missing action first.

Read the reason after the verb

What the sentence tells you
FrenchMeaningReason given
Le rapport omet cet exemple.The report leaves out this example.The sentence identifies the gap.
Nora a omis cet exemple pour raccourcir le rapport.Nora omitted this example to shorten the report.A deliberate choice.
Nora a oublié d’ajouter cet exemple.Nora forgot to add this example.An oversight.
La pièce jointe manque
  1. Malik

    Bonjour Nora, j’ai bien reçu ton message, mais il manque la pièce jointe.

    Hello Nora, I received your message, but the attachment is missing.

  2. Nora

    Pardon, j’ai oublié de joindre le document. Je te l’envoie tout de suite.

    Sorry, I forgot to attach the document. I’ll send it to you straight away.

  3. Malik

    Merci ! Et dans le résumé, tu as omis le dernier exemple ?

    Thanks! And in the summary, did you leave out the last example?

  4. Nora

    Oui, pour garder seulement les points essentiels.

    Yes, to keep just the essential points.

Keep the verb forms separate

Useful forms
Subject or constructionomettreoublier
jej’ometsj’oublie
nousnous omettonsnous oublions
passé composéj’ai omisj’ai oublié
la date…omiseoubliée

La date omise figure dans la nouvelle version.

The omitted date appears in the new version.

Omise agrees with feminine date. In j’ai omis la date, the object follows the verb, so the participle stays omis.

Question 1No account needed
What does this sentence establish?Le message omet la date.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The date is missing.. The date is left out. The sentence identifies the missing information but gives no reason for the omission.

Question 2No account needed
You cannot remember a colleague’s name. Complete the sentence.J’ai ___ son nom.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

oublié. The speaker cannot remember the name, so the verb for forgetting fits. Omitting would mean leaving the name out of something.

Question 3No account needed
Complete the formal reminder.Vous avez omis ___ signer le formulaire.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

de. Both verbs use the same preposition before an infinitive. Here the missing action is signing the form.

Question 4No account needed
Choose the correct plural form.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Nous omettons ce détail.. The first-person plural form needs a double t and the ending -ons. The third option has both.

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