זכר zakhár, “remember,” is morphologically a strong pa'al verb, root ז־כ־ר, but semantically stative. Present זוכר normally describes a memory being available, not an activity in progress. Hebrew then uses related binyanim to distinguish suddenly recalling something from causing someone else to remember it.
Complete paradigm
| Person | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | זָכַרְתִּי zakhárti | אֶזְכּוֹר ezkór |
| אתה | זָכַרְתָּ zakhárta | תִּזְכּוֹר tizkór |
| את | זָכַרְתְּ zakhárt | תִּזְכְּרִי tizkerí |
| הוא | זָכַר zakhár | יִזְכּוֹר yizkór |
| היא | זָכְרָה zakhrá | תִּזְכּוֹר tizkór |
| אנחנו | זָכַרְנוּ zakhárnu | נִזְכּוֹר nizkór |
| אתם / אתן | זְכַרְתֶּם / זְכַרְתֶּן zkhartém / zkhartén | תִּזְכְּרוּ tizkerú |
| הם / הן | זָכְרוּ zakhrú | יִזְכְּרוּ yizkerú |
| Form | Paradigm | Use |
|---|---|---|
| present | זוֹכֵר zokhér · זוֹכֶרֶת zokhéret · זוֹכְרִים zokhrím · זוֹכְרוֹת zokhrót | neutral, stative |
| imperative | זְכוֹר zkhór · זִכְרִי zikhrí · זִכְרוּ zikhrú | instructions, appeals, elevated formulas |
| infinitive | לִזְכּוֹר lizkór | neutral |
| action noun | זְכִירָה zkhirá | remembering or memorizing, often abstract/technical |
| everyday noun | זִיכָּרוֹן zikarón | memory |
The specifically feminine plural future תִּזְכּוֹרְנָה tizkórna is (formal or literary); speech uses תזכרו for all plural groups. Conversational second-person plural past is generally zakhártem / zakhárten, beside careful zkhartém / zkhartén.
אתה זוכר אותי?
atá zokhér otí?
Do you remember me? (to a man)
אני לא זוכרת איפה שמתי את זה.
aní lo zokhéret éifo sámti et ze.
I don't remember where I put it. (f. speaker)
Hold, recall, remind: three binyanim
English remember covers a stable state, entry into that state, and in some contexts causing another person to enter it. Hebrew distributes those roles across pa'al, nif'al, and hif'il.
| Verb | Perspective | Frame |
|---|---|---|
| זכר | hold something in memory | זכר את / זכר ש־ |
| נזכר | suddenly recall, come to remember | נזכר ב־ / נזכר ש־ |
| הזכיר | cause someone to remember; mention | הזכיר ל־ / הזכיר את |
זכרתי את השם שלו כל הערב.
zakhárti et hashém sheló kol ha'érev.
I remembered his name all evening.
פתאום נזכרתי שיש לי פגישה.
pitóm nizkárti sheyésh li pegishá.
Suddenly I remembered that I had an appointment.
תזכיר לי מחר לשלוח את הטופס.
tazkír li makhár lishlóakh et hatófes.
Remind me tomorrow to send the form. (to a man)
This is not free alternation. נזכרתי את הפגישה is ungrammatical because nif'al נזכר governs ב־; הזכרתי לי would make the same person both reminder and recipient and normally requires a reflexive construction instead. The binyan identifies whose memory changes.
What comes after זכר
Use את before a definite remembered person or thing, ש־ before a remembered fact, an infinitive for remembering to perform an action, and איך / איפה / מתי for embedded questions.
תזכור לסגור את החלון לפני שאתה יוצא.
tizkór lisgór et hakhalón lifnéi she'atá yotsé.
Remember to close the window before you leave. (to a man)
אני זוכרת שהבטחת להתקשר.
aní zokhéret shehivtákhta lehitkashér.
I remember that you promised to call. (f. speaker, to a man)
את זוכרת איך מגיעים לשם?
at zokhéret eikh magi'ím leshám?
Do you remember how to get there? (to a woman)
Remembering and forgetting are lexical opposites, so learn each frame as a pair: זכרתי / שכחתי את השם, תזכור / אל תשכח לסגור. The שכח reference develops the preposition split that belongs to “forget.”
תזכור מה שאמרתי לך.
tizkór ma she'amárti lekhá.
Remember what I told you. (to a man)
Homographs and the root family
Unpointed זכר has three common readings: verb זָכַר zakhár “he remembered,” noun זֵכֶר zékher “memory/trace,” and noun or grammatical term זָכָר zakhár “male/masculine.” Formula זכרו לברכה contains construct זִכְרוֹ zikhró, “his memory.”
Bare זכור is imperative זְכוֹר zkhór or passive adjective זָכוּר zakhúr, “remembered.” Importantly, fixed זכור לטוב is the adjective—“remembered for good”—not the imperative, even though the spelling is identical.
הוא זכור לטוב בקרב התלמידים שלו.
hu zakhúr latóv bekérev hatalmidím sheló.
He is remembered fondly among his students. (formal)
The family includes זיכרון “memory,” מזכרת “souvenir/memento,” and תזכורת “reminder.” יזכור yizkór, literally “may [God] remember,” names a Jewish memorial prayer (liturgical/religious); it should not be treated as an ordinary future noun.
Common Mistakes
1. Giving nif'al נזכר a direct object.
❌ נזכרתי את הפגישה.
Incorrect—נזכר governs ב־ or a ש־ clause.
✅ נזכרתי בפגישה רק ברגע האחרון.
nizkárti bapegishá rak baréga ha'akharón.
I remembered the appointment only at the last moment.
2. Confusing remember with remind.
❌ אני אזכור לך מחר.
Incorrect for 'I'll remind you'; causative הזכיר takes the recipient with ל־.
✅ אני אזכיר לך מחר להביא תעודה.
aní azkír lekhá makhár lehaví te'udá.
I'll remind you tomorrow to bring identification. (to a man)
3. Treating זכור לטוב as a command.
❌ זכור לטוב
zkhór latóv — an imperative
Incorrect reading—in this formula זכור is the passive adjective זָכוּר, zakhúr, 'remembered'.
✅ המורה הזאת זכורה לטוב גם אחרי שנים.
hamorá hazót zekhurá latóv gam akharéi shaním.
This teacher is remembered fondly even years later.
Key Takeaways
- Stative זוכר means a memory is available; inchoative נזכר ב־ means it comes back.
- Hif'il הזכיר ל־ means remind someone; each binyan assigns different roles.
- Use את, ש־, an infinitive, or an embedded question according to the complement.
- Bare זכר has three readings; bare זכור is command or adjective.
- זכור לטוב contains the adjective zakhúr, not imperative zkhór.
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