覚えてる？
oboeteru?
In Japanese, "do you remember?" is translated as 覚えてる？ (oboeteru?)
This phrase is used to ask if someone still has a particular piece of information or a memory in their mind.
Which one should you use?
Additionally, 覚えてるかな？ (oboeteru kana?) is an informal way to ask "Do you remember?" that adds a sense of uncertainty.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
There are several ways to express this depending on the setting. The casual form is 覚えてる？ For polite or formal settings, such as when speaking to strangers or superiors, use 覚えていますか？ If you need to be very polite and formal, use ご記憶にありますか？
How does it change in a sentence?
The informal form 覚えてる (oboeteru) is a contraction of 覚えている (oboete iru), where the 'i' is dropped in casual speech. When asking the question informally, the question is indicated by a rising intonation at the end of the sentence rather than a particle.
How do you pronounce it?
oboeteru?
Did you know?
- While 覚えてる is used for memories, Japanese uses the verb 思い出す to describe the active process of recalling or 'bringing back' a memory to mind.
- In Japanese, the phrase 覚える (oboeru) does not just mean 'to remember', but can also mean 'to learn' or 'to memorize' a new piece of information. This can lead to confusion when deciding if you are asking if someone knows a fact or if they have stored it in their memory.
- The polite form ご記憶にありますか？ (go-kioku ni arimasu ka?) uses the honorific prefix ご (go) to show respect to the person's memory itself. It treats the listener's memory as something precious or high-status.
Examples in context
- 会議の内容を覚えていますか？Do you remember the details of the meeting?
- 昨年のイベントはご記憶にありますか？Do you remember last year's event?
- 昨日のパーティー、覚えてる？Do you remember the party yesterday?
- 僕たちが出会った日、覚えてるかな？Do you remember the day we met?
- あの時のこと、覚えてる？ano toki no koto, oboeteru?Do you remember what happened back then?
- 彼の名前、覚えてる？kare no namae, oboeteru?Do you remember his name?
- 昨日言ったこと、覚えてる？kinou itta koto, oboeteru?Do you remember what I said yesterday?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about an old school teacher.
- 蓮 Ren数学の先生のこと、覚えてる？suugaku no sensei no koto, oboeteru?Do you remember our math teacher?
- 美咲 Misakiもちろん、覚えてるよ。mochiron, oboeteru yo.Of course, I remember him.
- 蓮 Renすごく厳しかったよね。sugoku kibishikatta yo ne.He was very strict, wasn't he?
- 美咲 Misakiそうだね、怖かったよ。sou da ne, kowakatta yo.That's true, he was scary.
