How do I say ‘never mind’?
Extremely common, but it can sound resigned, annoyed, forgiving, or simply practical.
算了
Forget it / never mind / let it go.
Let it count as finished.
Forget it / never mind / let it go.
WHEN IT FITS
The particle 吧 can soften 算了 into a suggestion to let something go.
算了 runs a wide tonal range that only context disambiguates: practical (算了吧, let’s forget it), resigned (算了… with a trailing pause), annoyed (a sharp 算了!), or forgiving (soft tone, moving on). The particle 吧 consistently pushes 算了 toward a suggestion rather than a command. When you want to withdraw something you just said without implying irritation, 当我没说 (“pretend I didn’t say it”) is the cleaner choice.
HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY SAY IT
算了，不说这个了。
Never mind. Let’s not talk about this anymore.
Dropping a topic找不到就算了吧。
If we can’t find it, just forget it.
Practical acceptanceCHOOSE BY SITUATION
没事，当我没说
It’s fine—pretend I didn’t say anything.
Withdrawing something you just said or asked