<p>The biggest help to clarify the difference is that 记住 has the result complement 住, which is used to express <strong>halt</strong> (e.g. 站住 stand still), and, by extension, <strong>firmness</strong> of the action (e.g. 忍住 withstand).</p>
<p>So 记住 literally means &quot;remember firmly&quot;, therefore <em>&quot;bear in mind&quot;</em>, with also the additional nuance of making an active attempt to remember.</p>
<p>Examples:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>他刚说的话很重要，你一定要记住 = What he just said is very important, you must remember it.</p>
<p>中文语法例外太多，我记不住 = Chinese grammar has too many exceptions, I can't remember them.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>记得 instead means simply &quot;to remember&quot;, &quot;to recall&quot;, without an active effort to remember firmly.</p>
<p>Examples:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我昨天晚饭吃了什么，我已经不记得了 = I already don't remember what I had for dinner yesterday</p>
<p>明天记得把垃圾扔掉吧 = remember to take out the trash tomorrow</p>
<p>你去超市记得给我买一些水果 = remember to buy me some fruit when you go to the market</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-13T12:04:26.857Z
2020-08-13T12:04:26.857Z
blackgreen
<p>Google obviously doesn't help, both recorded as remember / recall except 记得 as <code>bring to mind</code> and 记住 as <code>bear in mind</code>.</p>
<p>Found <a href="https://hinative.com/zh-CN/questions/6442593" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a blog post</a> that is confusing with some claiming 记得 is more about having done the act of remembering.</p>
<p>I found another one with the opposite view <a href="https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/542573#answer-1327759" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>, but I recall learning 记得 early on and its meanings included the act of remembering, including a bit of confusion due to some overlap with 想起来 (outside of scope here).</p>
<p>I'd love outside confirmation and possibly a few example sentences using both 记得 and 记住.</p>

<difference><synonyms><verbs>
Differences between 记得 and 记住
# Differences between 记得 and 记住

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-13)

Google obviously doesn't help, both recorded as remember / recall except 记得 as `bring to mind` and 记住 as `bear in mind`.

Found [a blog post](https://hinative.com/zh-CN/questions/6442593) that is confusing with some claiming 记得 is more about having done the act of remembering.

I found another one with the opposite view [here](https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/542573#answer-1327759), but I recall learning 记得 early on and its meanings included the act of remembering, including a bit of confusion due to some overlap with 想起来 (outside of scope here).

I'd love outside confirmation and possibly a few example sentences using both 记得 and 记住.

**Tags:** difference, synonyms, verbs


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-08-13. Score: 5

The biggest help to clarify the difference is that 记住 has the result complement 住, which is used to express **halt** (e.g. 站住 stand still), and, by extension, **firmness** of the action (e.g. 忍住 withstand).

So 记住 literally means "remember firmly", therefore *"bear in mind"*, with also the additional nuance of making an active attempt to remember.

Examples:

> 他刚说的话很重要，你一定要记住 = What he just said is very important, you must remember it.
>
> 中文语法例外太多，我记不住 = Chinese grammar has too many exceptions, I can't remember them.

记得 instead means simply "to remember", "to recall", without an active effort to remember firmly.

Examples:

> 我昨天晚饭吃了什么，我已经不记得了 = I already don't remember what I had for dinner yesterday
>
> 明天记得把垃圾扔掉吧 = remember to take out the trash tomorrow
>
> 你去超市记得给我买一些水果 = remember to buy me some fruit when you go to the market


---

