Memori: To Remember | Esperanto Grammar

Memori is the regular verb for retaining something in memory or being able to bring it mentally to mind. It can take a direct object, a clause, or a topic phrase with pri. The related rememori often highlights retrieval—the moment something comes back—while memori more readily presents memory as an available state.

Complete regular paradigm

Form	Function	Typical translation
memori	infinitive	to remember
memoras	present indicative	remembers
memoris	past indicative	remembered
memoros	future indicative	will remember
memorus	conditional	would remember
memoru	volitive	remember!

The forms never change for person or number. In its ordinary object frame, the remembered person, thing, or event takes accusative -n.

Mi ankoraŭ memoras la unuan fojon, kiam ni renkontiĝis.

I still remember the first time we met.

Ŝi memoris lian nomon, sed ne lian adreson.

She remembered his name but not his address.

Memoru la pordokodon, ĉar via telefono eble senŝargiĝos.

Remember the door code, because your phone may run out of battery.

Direct objects: what remains in memory

The direct object presents the remembered content as a person, thing, fact-like item, or bounded experience. This is the simplest and most frequent frame: memori iun aŭ ion.

Ĉu vi memoras tiun etan restoracion apud la haveno?

Do you remember that little restaurant beside the harbor?

Mi ne memoras la precizan daton de la kunveno.

I don't remember the exact date of the meeting.

Ni ĉiam memoros ŝian paciencon kaj humuron.

We will always remember her patience and humor.

English “remember” is also transitive, so the basic frame looks familiar. The transfer trap is morphological: Esperanto must visibly mark the object and everything agreeing with it—tiun etan restoracion, not tiu eta restoracio.

A ke clause presents a remembered proposition; a ki- clause presents remembered information such as where, how, or what happened.

Mi memoras, ke vi jam menciis tiun problemon.

I remember that you already mentioned that problem.

Neniu memoris, kie ni parkis la aŭton.

No one remembered where we had parked the car.

Esperanto does not automatically shift the subordinate verb into a more remote past merely because the main verb is past. Mi memoris, ke vi loĝas tie can report a fact still valid at that reference time; choose tense for the actual relation intended.

Pri presents a topic of memory

Memori pri iu aŭ io treats the following phrase as the topic that occupies or remains in one's memory. It often overlaps with a direct object.

Mi ofte memoras pri niaj longaj someroj ĉe la lago.

I often remember our long summers at the lake.

Kie ajn ŝi vojaĝas, ŝi memoras pri siaj amikoj hejme.

Wherever she travels, she remembers her friends back home.

— Ĉu vi memoris pri la rendevuo? — Jes, mi jam aldonis ĝin al mia kalendaro.

— Did you remember the appointment? — Yes, I've already added it to my calendar.

The distinction is a matter of perspective, not a rigid difference in truth conditions. Mi memoras la vojaĝon packages the journey as remembered content. Mi memoras pri la vojaĝo makes the journey the topic of one's remembering and can suggest thinking back on it. Both patterns are established.

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Use the direct object as the dependable default for a specific remembered item. Use pri when you want to frame that item as the topic occupying someone's memory.

What de does—and does not do

English “remember someone from school” may tempt learners to treat “from” as part of the verb's complement. Esperanto de is not an alternative marker for the remembered object. It marks an origin, starting point, association, or relation inside the larger phrase.

Mi memoras tiun konstruaĵon de antaŭ la renovigo, kiam ĝi estis lernejo.

I remember that building from before the renovation, when it was a school.

Mi memoras la voĉon de mia avo, sed ne ĉiujn liajn rakontojn.

I remember my grandfather's voice, but not all his stories.

In the first example, de antaŭ la renovigo locates the earlier period. In the second, de mia avo identifies whose voice it was. Neither de replaces the accusative object. When the intended relation is the source from which a memory is drawn, el is often clearer: bildo el mia infanaĝo “an image from my childhood.”

This is an honest area of overlap: natural texts contain both direct-object and pri patterns, while de has its ordinary prepositional work. Do not memorize three interchangeable “prepositions after memori”; learn the roles.

Remembering an action

An infinitive after memori is especially useful for an action that must not be omitted: memori fari ion “remember to do something.” The understood performer of the infinitive is normally the subject of memori.

Memoru ŝlosi la fenestrojn antaŭ ol vi foriros.

Remember to lock the windows before you leave.

Mi memoros telefoni al ŝi post la laboro.

I will remember to call her after work.

For a memory of an action already performed, a finite clause is usually clearer: Mi memoras, ke mi ŝlosis la pordon “I remember that I locked the door.” Mi memoras ŝlosi la pordon can be understood, but the infinitive does not overtly locate the action in time. English distinguishes “remember to do” and “remember doing”; Esperanto expresses the retrospective reading most clearly with ke, kiam, or an explicit participial construction.

See Infinitives as Complements for subject control and tense interpretation.

Memori versus rememori

The prefix re- contributes a return to an earlier mental state. Consequently, rememori often means “recall, recollect, remember again”: information becomes accessible after not being active in the mind.

Mi konas ŝian vizaĝon, sed mi ne povas rememori ŝian nomon.

I know her face, but I can't recall her name.

Nur en la trajno li subite rememoris, ke la biletoj restis hejme.

Only on the train did he suddenly remember that the tickets were still at home.

Rememoru, kion vi promesis al la teamo.

Recall what you promised the team.

The contrast is useful, not absolute. Established usage allows memori for both a state and an act of remembering, and rememori can describe sustained recollection. A good production rule is: choose memori for “have/keep in memory” and rememori when retrieval or return is salient. The productive uses of re- are discussed under the prefix re-.

Memorigi: cause someone to remember

The causative memorigi has two standard valency patterns. Either the person caused to remember is the direct object and the memory topic uses pri, or the remembered content is the direct object and the experiencer uses al.

Tiu odoro memorigas min pri la kuirejo de mia avino.

That smell reminds me of my grandmother's kitchen.

Tiu odoro memorigas al mi mian infanaĝon.

That smell reminds me of my childhood.

Do not combine both alternatives into two direct objects. Tio memorigas min mian infanaĝon leaves two competing accusative roles and is not the standard construction.

Other useful family members include memoro “memory,” memoraĵo “keepsake/recollection,” memorinda “memorable, worth remembering,” memorilo “memory aid,” and rememorigo “reminder.”

Mi agordis memorigilon en mia telefono por ne maltrafi la limdaton.

I set a reminder on my phone so as not to miss the deadline.

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With memorigi, choose one object strategy: memorigi iun pri io or memorigi al iu ion. Never mark both the experiencer and the memory as direct objects.

Participles

Because memori can take a direct object, all six participles are available.

Active	Meaning	Passive	Meaning
memoranta	remembering now	memorata	being remembered
memorinta	having remembered	memorita	having been remembered
memoronta	about to remember	memorota	going to be remembered

La instruisto estis memorata de ĉiuj pro siaj klaraj, konkretaj ekzemploj.

The teacher was remembered by everyone for their clear, concrete examples.

Memorinte la ĝustan pasvorton, ŝi finfine povis ensaluti.

Having remembered the correct password, she could finally log in.

The simple adjective memora means “related to memory” or commemorative, whereas participial memorata means “being remembered.” Memorinda makes an evaluation: worth remembering.

Register, norm, and frequency

Memor- is a Fundamental root, and its regular paradigm, direct objects, clauses, and pri topics are neutral across conversation and formal writing. Rememori and memorigi are standard productive formations with extensive classical and modern attestation.

The state-versus-retrieval contrast between memori and rememori is a pedagogically valuable tendency, not a mandatory aspect system. Likewise, direct object versus pri often shifts information structure more than objective meaning. The two-pattern analysis of memorigi reflects the regular causative system and is the point at which strict role marking matters most.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting object agreement

❌ Mi bone memoras tiu interesa diskuto.

Incorrect — the remembered noun phrase is a direct object.

✅ Mi bone memoras tiun interesan diskuton.

I remember that interesting discussion well.

Treating de as the ordinary object marker

❌ Mi memoras de nia unua renkontiĝo.

Incorrect for the basic meaning — de does not mark the remembered topic or object.

✅ Mi memoras nian unuan renkontiĝon.

I remember our first meeting.

Omitting ke before a remembered proposition

❌ Mi memoras mi fermis la pordon hieraŭ vespere.

Incorrect — the finite content clause needs ke.

✅ Mi memoras, ke mi fermis la pordon hieraŭ vespere.

I remember that I closed the door last night.

Giving memorigi two direct objects

❌ La foto memorigis min la vojaĝon.

Incorrect — the experiencer and remembered content cannot both be direct objects.

✅ La foto memorigis min pri la vojaĝo.

The photo reminded me of the trip.

Splitting the conventional derivative rememori

❌ Mi ne povas re memori ŝian familian nomon.

Incorrect — re- forms one word with the verb root.

✅ Mi ne povas rememori ŝian familian nomon.

I cannot recall her surname.

Key Takeaways

Memori takes a direct object, a content clause, or a topic with pri.
De keeps its ordinary roles of origin, time, or relation; it is not a replacement for the object marker.
Use an infinitive most clearly for remembering to act, and a finite clause for remembering that an action occurred.
Rememori foregrounds retrieval or return to memory, though real usage overlaps with memori.
Memorigi uses either memorigi iun pri io or memorigi al iu ion.

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