Se rappeler is the second of the two French verbs for to remember — and the one that takes a direct object with no preposition: je me rappelle son nom, tu te rappelles ce film, elle se rappelle leur première rencontre. Adding a de (je me rappelle DE son nom) is the most common error of all in this corner of the grammar. You will hear it everywhere in everyday spoken French — even from native speakers — but it is condemned by every prescriptive grammar, every dictation manual, and every French exam corrector. In standard usage, se rappeler is transitive: noun + nothing, no de.
The conjugation belongs to the -eler family — se rappeler is essentially appeler with a reflexive pronoun and a different meaning. That means the canonical -eler doubling rule applies: the single l doubles to ll whenever the next syllable contains a silent e. Je me rappelle (double ll), nous nous rappelons (single l). The futur and conditionnel keep the doubled ll throughout: je me rappellerai, je me rappellerais.
This page covers the paradigm, the DO construction (with cliticization patterns), the contrast with se souvenir, and an honest account of the standard-vs-spoken split that makes the je me rappelle de form so contested.
The simple tenses
Se rappeler always carries a reflexive pronoun: me, te, se, nous, vous, se. The conjugation otherwise follows appeler — the -eler doubling pattern.
Présent de l'indicatif
Standard -er endings on the rappel- stem, with the doubled ll in 1sg, 2sg, 3sg, and 3pl — but not in 1pl or 2pl, where the next-syllable e is pronounced.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | me rappelle | /mə ʁa.pɛl/ |
| tu | te rappelles | /tə ʁa.pɛl/ |
| il / elle / on | se rappelle | /sə ʁa.pɛl/ |
| nous | nous rappelons | /nu nu ʁa.plɔ̃/ |
| vous | vous rappelez | /vu vu ʁa.ple/ |
| ils / elles | se rappellent | /sə ʁa.pɛl/ |
The 1sg, 2sg, 3sg, and 3pl all sound identical (/ʁapɛl/) — the silent endings -e, -es, -e, -ent don't add a syllable, so the stem e is stressed and the doubled ll signals that stress. In 1pl/2pl, the -ons / -ez endings are pronounced, the stem e falls silent (becoming a schwa or dropping in fast speech), and a single l is enough.
Je me rappelle son visage, mais pas son prénom.
I remember her face, but not her first name.
Tu te rappelles ce restaurant rue des Martyrs ?
You remember that restaurant on rue des Martyrs?
Mes parents se rappellent encore parfaitement leur premier appartement.
My parents still remember their first apartment perfectly.
Imparfait
Built on the rappel- stem (the form with single l) plus regular imparfait endings. All six imparfait forms have a single l — the e of the imparfait endings (-ais, -ait, -aient, -ions, -iez) is always pronounced, which keeps the stem e silent.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | me rappelais |
| tu | te rappelais |
| il / elle / on | se rappelait |
| nous | nous rappelions |
| vous | vous rappeliez |
| ils / elles | se rappelaient |
Je me rappelais bien sa voix, mais plus du tout son visage.
I remembered his voice clearly, but not his face at all.
Mes grands-parents se rappelaient toujours nos anniversaires sans l'aide d'un calendrier.
My grandparents always remembered our birthdays without needing a calendar.
Passé simple (literary)
Standard 1st-conjugation passé simple endings — single l throughout because all endings start with a pronounced vowel.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | me rappelai |
| tu | te rappelas |
| il / elle / on | se rappela |
| nous | nous rappelâmes |
| vous | vous rappelâtes |
| ils / elles | se rappelèrent |
Elle se rappela soudain qu'elle avait laissé le four allumé. (literary)
She suddenly remembered she had left the oven on.
Futur simple
Stem rappeller- (built from the infinitive but with doubled ll throughout all six persons), plus regular futur endings. The e of the futur ending (-erai, -eras, -era, -erons, -erez, -eront) is silent, so the stem e must be stressed — hence the doubled ll across the entire paradigm.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | me rappellerai | /mə ʁa.pɛl.ʁe/ |
| tu | te rappelleras | /tə ʁa.pɛl.ʁa/ |
| il / elle / on | se rappellera | /sə ʁa.pɛl.ʁa/ |
| nous | nous rappellerons | /nu nu ʁa.pɛl.ʁɔ̃/ |
| vous | vous rappellerez | /vu vu ʁa.pɛl.ʁe/ |
| ils / elles | se rappelleront | /sə ʁa.pɛl.ʁɔ̃/ |
This contrasts sharply with the imparfait, where every person has single l. Watch for the doubling: forgetting it (je me rappelerai with single l) is one of the most common spelling mistakes in French.
Je me rappellerai toute ma vie cette journée à Florence.
I'll remember that day in Florence all my life.
Vous vous rappellerez de me recontacter avant vendredi ?
Will you remember to get back to me before Friday?
Conditionnel présent
Same rappeller- stem with double ll, plus imparfait endings. Every person has double ll.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | me rappellerais |
| tu | te rappellerais |
| il / elle / on | se rappellerait |
| nous | nous rappellerions |
| vous | vous rappelleriez |
| ils / elles | se rappelleraient |
Si tu y faisais plus attention, tu te rappellerais où tu poses tes affaires.
If you paid more attention, you'd remember where you put your things.
Subjonctif présent
Same split as the present indicative: double ll in 1sg, 2sg, 3sg, 3pl; single l in 1pl, 2pl.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | me rappelle |
| (que) tu | te rappelles |
| (qu')il / elle / on | se rappelle |
| (que) nous | nous rappelions |
| (que) vous | vous rappeliez |
| (qu')ils / elles | se rappellent |
The 1pl nous rappelions and 2pl vous rappeliez are spelled identically to their imparfait counterparts.
Il faut que tu te rappelles où tu as garé la voiture.
You need to remember where you parked the car.
Impératif
In the affirmative, the reflexive pronoun moves after the verb and is hyphenated; te becomes toi. The tu-imperative drops the -s but keeps the doubled ll (silent ending).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | rappelle-toi |
| (nous) | rappelons-nous |
| (vous) | rappelez-vous |
Rappelle-toi ce que je t'ai dit la dernière fois.
Remember what I told you last time.
Rappelez-vous toujours d'où vous venez.
Always remember where you come from.
In the negative imperative, the pronoun returns to its preverbal position: ne te rappelle pas, ne nous rappelons pas, ne vous rappelez pas — though negative imperatives of se rappeler are rare in practice.
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: rappelé (feminine rappelée, plural rappelés / rappelées) — agrees with the subject in compound tenses (single l — the é is pronounced)
- Participe présent: se rappelant
- Gérondif: en se rappelant
En me rappelant son visage, je me suis aperçue qu'on s'était déjà rencontrés.
As I remembered her face, I realized we'd already met.
The compound tenses
Se rappeler uses être as its auxiliary in all compound tenses — like every pronominal verb. The participle agrees with the subject (because se rappeler is intrinsically pronominal — see the note on se souvenir for the technical justification).
Passé composé
être (présent) + rappelé(e)(s)
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| je (masc.) | me suis rappelé |
| je (fem.) | me suis rappelée |
| tu (masc.) | t'es rappelé |
| tu (fem.) | t'es rappelée |
| il / on | s'est rappelé |
| elle | s'est rappelée |
| nous (masc. or mixed) | nous sommes rappelés |
| nous (fem.) | nous sommes rappelées |
| vous (masc. sg., or mixed pl.) | vous êtes rappelé(s) |
| vous (fem.) | vous êtes rappelée(s) |
| ils / elles | se sont rappelé(e)s |
Je me suis tout à coup rappelée son anniversaire en pleine réunion.
I suddenly remembered her birthday in the middle of a meeting. (speaker is female: rappelée with -e)
Tu t'es rappelé d'éteindre le four ?
Did you remember to turn off the oven?
On s'est tous rappelé ce moment précis avec beaucoup d'émotion.
We all remembered that exact moment with great emotion.
Plus-que-parfait, futur antérieur, conditionnel passé
The other compound tenses follow the standard être + rappelé(e)(s) pattern.
Je m'étais rappelée qu'il avait peur des chiens, c'est pour ça que je l'ai prévenu.
I'd remembered he was afraid of dogs — that's why I warned him.
Quand tu te seras rappelé son nom, fais-moi signe.
When you've remembered his name, let me know.
The core uses
1. Se rappeler quelque chose / quelqu'un — to remember something / someone (DO)
This is the signature pattern, and the absence of de is the headline syntactic feature. The thing remembered is a direct object — no preposition.
se rappeler + DO
Je me rappelle son numéro de téléphone par cœur.
I remember her phone number by heart.
Tu te rappelles cette soirée chez Camille ? Quelle catastrophe.
You remember that evening at Camille's? What a disaster.
Elle ne se rappelle plus mon prénom, c'est vexant.
She doesn't remember my first name anymore — it's hurtful.
When the direct object is replaced by a pronoun, the standard direct-object clitics apply: le, la, les for definite referents.
Tu te rappelles ce film ? — Oui, je me le rappelle.
You remember that movie? — Yes, I remember it.
Cette histoire, je me la rappelle parfaitement.
That story — I remember it perfectly.
This is a key syntactic difference from se souvenir: with se rappeler, the pronoun is le, la, les; with se souvenir, it is en (because se souvenir takes de). See the contrast section below.
2. Se rappeler que + indicative — to remember that…
When the thing remembered is a clause, use que + indicative — no de, just like with se souvenir que.
se rappeler *que + indicative*
Je me rappelle qu'il faisait nuit quand on est arrivés.
I remember it was dark when we arrived.
Tu te rappelles qu'on doit chercher Léa à la gare ?
Do you remember we have to pick up Léa at the station?
Rappelle-toi qu'on a un dîner ce soir.
Remember we have a dinner tonight.
The verb in the que-clause is in whatever indicative tense the proposition demands. Subjunctive is incorrect after affirmative se rappeler que — the verb is factive, like se souvenir que.
3. Se rappeler + infinitif — to remember to do (the standard form)
When the action remembered is an infinitive, standard French uses se rappeler + bare infinitive (no preposition):
Standard: se rappeler + infinitif
Je me rappelle avoir laissé les clés sur la table.
I remember leaving the keys on the table.
Elle se rappelle avoir vu cet homme à l'enterrement.
She remembers having seen that man at the funeral.
Souvenez-vous d'écrire la lettre. / Rappelez-vous d'écrire la lettre.
Remember to write the letter. (Note: even strict grammar accepts se rappeler DE + infinitive in many usage guides, though the bare-infinitive form is more conservative.)
In current usage, the de + infinitive after se rappeler (the je me rappelle de + inf form for future remembering) is widely accepted, even by some prescriptive sources. For past memories (je me rappelle avoir vu), the bare infinitive remains standard.
4. Se rappeler à + indirect-object recipient — to remind oneself to someone
A formal idiom in business and polite correspondence: se rappeler *au bon souvenir de quelqu'un* — to remind oneself to someone, to send one's regards.
Je me rappelle à votre bon souvenir, monsieur le président. (formal letter closing)
I send you my regards, Mr. President.
This is rare in everyday speech but worth recognizing in formal letters and emails.
Se rappeler vs se souvenir: the headline contrast
This is the most important grammatical lesson tied to this verb — repeated here because it bears repeating.
| Verb | Preposition? | Pronoun replacement |
|---|---|---|
| se rappeler | none (DO) | le / la / les |
| se souvenir | DE | en |
Side-by-side examples:
Je me rappelle son nom. → Je me le rappelle.
I remember his name. → I remember it.
Je me souviens de son nom. → Je m'en souviens.
I remember his name. → I remember it.
The two verbs are syntactically opposite — but semantically nearly synonymous. Most native speakers feel a tiny stylistic difference (se souvenir is slightly more vivid or sentimental, se rappeler slightly more neutral or factual), but both work in most contexts. The choice is largely a matter of personal style.
The error to avoid: ❌ je me rappelle de son nom — mixing the two constructions. You will hear it constantly. It is one of the most frequent grammatical errors made by native French speakers themselves. In careful writing, exam contexts, and professional communication, you must keep the constructions separate.
See verbs/thought-verbs/se-rappeler-vs-se-souvenir for the full discussion.
The je me rappelle de… problem — an honest take
You will hear ❌ je me rappelle de… all the time in casual French — from children, from adults, in podcasts, in movies, in pop songs, on social media. The form has been spreading for decades, and many linguists argue it should now be considered a legitimate variant rather than an error. Why is it so widespread?
The answer is analogy. Se souvenir takes de, and the two verbs mean the same thing. Speakers who alternate between them tend to leak the de across, especially in 1sg present (je me rappelle). The form je me rappelle de is also pragmatically smoother — the de lets you pause without having to commit immediately to the noun.
But every standard reference — Le Petit Robert, the Académie française, the Bescherelle, every French exam corrector — marks se rappeler de as incorrect. In writing, in formal speech, and in contexts where you are being evaluated, you must use se rappeler + DO (no de).
A safe rule of thumb: when in doubt, use se souvenir de… — it is always grammatically correct, and it sounds slightly more careful and literate than se rappeler. If you avoid se rappeler entirely until you've drilled the no-preposition pattern, you will never make the mixed-form error.
High-frequency idioms
- si je me rappelle bien… — if I remember correctly…
- autant que je me rappelle… — as far as I remember…
- rappelle-toi ! — remember!
- un rappel (related noun) — a reminder, a call back, a curtain call
- le rappel des troupes — the calling-up of troops
- au rappel des souvenirs — at the recall of memories (literary)
- ça me rappelle quelque chose — that rings a bell (literally: that reminds me of something — using non-reflexive rappeler à construction)
Si je me rappelle bien, c'était pendant l'été 2003.
If I remember correctly, it was during the summer of 2003.
Cette mélodie me rappelle quelque chose, mais quoi ?
This melody rings a bell — but what is it?
Note: me rappelle in cette mélodie me rappelle quelque chose is not the reflexive se rappeler. Here rappeler is used non-reflexively as to remind, with à quelqu'un (the person reminded). Distinguish:
- Je me rappelle cette chanson. — I remember this song. (reflexive se rappeler, 1sg subject)
- Cette chanson me rappelle quelque chose. — This song reminds me of something. (non-reflexive rappeler, the song is the subject, me is indirect object)
Comparison with English
Three friction points:
- The doubled ll in writing. The -eler doubling rule has no English equivalent. Forgetting one of the l's — je me rapele instead of je me rappelle — is a stigmatized spelling error, and the rule extends to the whole futur and conditionnel paradigms (je me rappellerai with double ll, not rappelerai).
- The reflexive that isn't reflexive. Like se souvenir, se rappeler is intrinsically pronominal in its memory sense — the me, te, se is a meaningless grammatical marker, not a myself, yourself, himself. Don't try to translate it.
- No phrasal verb counterpart for past-time I remember. English uses remember + bare gerund (I remember leaving the keys). French uses se rappeler + avoir + participle (je me rappelle avoir laissé les clés). The two structures are quite different — French's nominalized infinitive vs English's gerund.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Adding de (the most common error of all).
❌ Je me rappelle de son nom.
Wrong (in standard French) — se rappeler is transitive: je me rappelle son nom. Heard everywhere in casual speech, but stigmatized in standard usage.
✅ Je me rappelle son nom. / Je me souviens de son nom.
I remember his name.
Mistake 2: Forgetting the doubled ll in singular forms.
❌ Je me rapele cette histoire.
Wrong — singular forms have double ll: je me rappelle, tu te rappelles, il se rappelle.
✅ Je me rappelle cette histoire.
I remember that story.
Mistake 3: Single l in the futur or conditionnel.
❌ Je me rappelerai toujours de cette journée.
Wrong on TWO counts: missing double ll in the futur stem (rappeller-, not rappeler-), AND incorrect de. Should be: je me rappellerai toujours cette journée.
✅ Je me rappellerai toujours cette journée.
I'll always remember that day.
Mistake 4: Using avoir in compound tenses.
❌ J'ai rappelé son numéro.
Wrong on TWO counts: missing reflexive pronoun, AND wrong auxiliary. (And note: avoir rappelé without reflexive means 'called back' — different verb sense entirely.) For 'I remembered his number', use: je me suis rappelé(e) son numéro.
✅ Je me suis rappelé son numéro. / Je me suis rappelée son numéro.
I remembered his number. (masc. / fem.)
Mistake 5: Confusing reflexive se rappeler with non-reflexive rappeler à.
❌ Cette chanson se rappelle mon enfance.
Wrong — when a song reminds someone of something, the verb is non-reflexive rappeler à: cette chanson me rappelle mon enfance (this song reminds me of my childhood).
✅ Cette chanson me rappelle mon enfance.
This song reminds me of my childhood.
Key takeaways
Se rappeler conjugates like appeler with the -eler doubling pattern: double ll in 1sg/2sg/3sg/3pl present (je me rappelle, tu te rappelles, il se rappelle, ils se rappellent); double ll throughout the futur and conditionnel (je me rappellerai, je me rappellerais); single l in 1pl/2pl present and throughout the imparfait (nous nous rappelons, je me rappelais); single l in the participle (rappelé). Compound tenses use être, with subject-agreeing participle in modern usage (je me suis rappelée).
The signature construction is se rappeler + DO (no preposition): je me rappelle son nom, tu te rappelles ce film. The headline lesson: do not add de. The mixed form ❌ je me rappelle de… is heard everywhere in spoken French but condemned by every standard grammar; in formal contexts and exams, keep se rappeler (no preposition) separate from se souvenir de (with preposition).
Pronoun replacement: se rappeler le DO uses le, la, les (because the DO is direct); se souvenir de uses en (because the complement is de-marked). The two verbs are nearly synonymous semantically but syntactically opposite. A safe strategy if you want to avoid the mixed-form error: prefer se souvenir de… — it is always grammatical and slightly more careful in register.
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- Se Souvenir: Full Verb ReferenceA1 — Se souvenir is one of the two French verbs for to remember — and the one that takes the preposition de. Je me souviens DE mon enfance, never *je me souviens mon enfance. It is always pronominal (you cannot souvenir without the reflexive pronoun), conjugates like venir, and uses être in compound tenses with participle agreement: je me suis souvenu(e). The mismatch between se souvenir + de and se rappeler + DO is the single most error-prone area of French memory verbs — and a critical one to master.
- Appeler: Full Verb ReferenceA1 — Appeler is the verb to call — and the canonical example of the -eler doubling family. The single l of the stem doubles to ll whenever the next syllable contains a silent e: j'appelle, tu appelles, il appelle, ils appellent, but nous appelons, vous appelez. The double-l persists throughout the futur (j'appellerai) and conditionnel (j'appellerais). The conjugation is otherwise regular -er. The verb covers calling on the phone, naming, summoning; the reflexive s'appeler is the standard way to ask and give one's name (comment tu t'appelles? — je m'appelle Marie); rappeler means to call back or remind. The -eler doubling family includes appeler, rappeler, épeler, ensorceler, ficeler, étinceler — but acheter and peler are notable exceptions taking the grave-accent pattern instead.
- Se Rappeler vs Se SouvenirB1 — Two French verbs for 'remember,' identical in meaning but different in syntax. Se rappeler takes a direct object — no preposition. Se souvenir takes 'de' before its complement. Mixing them produces the most stigmatized grammatical mistake in spoken French. Add retenir, mémoriser, and oublier and the page covers the whole memory cluster.
- Verbes Essentiellement PronominauxA2 — Some French verbs always carry a reflexive pronoun even when there is no reflexive meaning at all — *se souvenir*, *se moquer*, *s'évanouir*, *se taire*. The 'se' is part of the verb's lexical entry. A second category of verbs has both pronominal and non-pronominal forms with completely different meanings.
- L'Accord du Participe Passé des Verbes PronominauxB1 — Pronominal verbs use *être* in compound tenses but follow a different agreement rule than other *être* verbs: the past participle agrees with the reflexive pronoun *only when that pronoun is the direct object*. Body-part constructions and verbs taking *à quelqu'un* are the trap.