hatırlamak and unutmak (to remember and forget)

English keeps "remember" and "forget" grammatically simple: both take a plain object ("I remember the address") or a that-clause ("I forgot that you were coming"). Turkish does the same job with two verbs that behave as a tidy mirror image of each other — hatırlamak "to remember / recall" and unutmak "to forget" — and the real payoff of learning them together is that they share exactly the same grammar. Whatever case or clause type works with one works with the other. The two things that trip up learners are the -DIK complement clause (Turkish's equivalent of a that-clause) and the causative cousin hatırlatmak "to remind," which suddenly demands a dative person. This page covers all of it.

The basic pattern: a plain accusative object

Both verbs are transitive and take their object in the accusative when that object is definite — a specific, known thing. This is the textbook accusative of the definite direct object you met on the accusative case page.

Notice that unutmak covers both "forget" (lose from memory) and "leave behind (by mistake)" — anahtarı unuttum is "I forgot / left my keys." Turkish does not split these into two verbs the way English splits "forget" from "leave," so context decides which reading you get.

As with any transitive verb, an indefinite object stays in the bare nominative: bir şey unuttum "I forgot something," bir isim hatırlıyorum "I recall a name (some name)." The accusative is reserved for the definite, already-identified object.

Remembering and forgetting a whole event: the -DIK complement

The construction that genuinely has no English-style equivalent is the -DIK clause. When what you remember or forget is not a thing but a fact or event — "that you came," "that I locked the door" — Turkish does not use a that-clause. Instead it nominalizes the whole subordinate verb with -DIK plus a possessive (the subject) plus the accusative, turning "you came" into a single noun-like chunk geldiğini, literally "your-having-come." This is the same machinery described on the nominalized complements page; here it is simply the object of hatırlamak or unutmak.

The internal logic, once you see it, is very regular: the embedded subject becomes a possessor (sen "you" → -(n)in, surfacing as the -in possessive on geldik-), and the whole nominalized clause then takes the accusative -i because it is the object of the main verb. So gel-diğ-in-i hatırlıyorum breaks down as "come-NOMINAL-your-ACCUSATIVE I.remember." Future-time events use -(y)AcAK instead of -DIK: geleceğini unutma "don't forget that you'll come."

Unutma! — the most useful imperative in the language

The negative imperative Unutma! "Don't forget!" is one of the highest-frequency phrases in everyday Turkish, used the way English drops "don't forget" into reminders, texts, and goodbyes. The plural/polite form is Unutmayın! Because the negation goes on the verb, the thing not to be forgotten can be a noun (ekmeği unutma "don't forget the bread") or a whole -DIK clause.

Notice the action-you-mustn't-forget-to-do is itself nominalized — here with the -mA verbal noun plus accusative: kapatmayı, aramayı ("the turning-off," "the calling"). So "forget to do X" is X-mAyI unutmak. The affirmative unut! "forget (it)!" also exists, often comforting: boş ver, unut gitsin "never mind, just forget it."

hatırlatmak — the causative "to remind"

This is where the mirror breaks in an instructive way. To say "remind," Turkish does not have a separate root; it causativises hatırlamak with the -t- suffix → hatırlatmak, literally "to make (someone) remember." This is the same causative machinery covered on the causative voice page, and it changes the argument frame: the person you remind goes into the dative (the "causee"), while the thing remembered stays accusative or appears as a -DIK clause.

That last example shows the most beautiful use: X bana Y'yi hatırlatıyor "X reminds me of Y" — used for resemblances, the way a smell, a face, or a song "brings something back." English uses the same verb "remind" for both prompting someone ("remind me to call") and resembling something ("you remind me of your father"); Turkish does too, with hatırlatmak covering the whole range.

Aorist and the "off the top of my head" sense

Both verbs form a regular aorist: hatırlarım / hatırlar "I remember / he remembers (as a general fact)" and unuturum / unutur "I forget / he forgets." The aorist carries the habitual, characterising reading — çabuk unuturum "I forget quickly (that's how I am)" — as opposed to the present continuous unutuyorum for forgetting happening now. The aorist negative is hatırlamam "I (just) don't remember / can't recall" and unutmam "I won't forget," the latter often a promise.

Compare this with the related judgment verb on the düşünmek page: hatırlamak retrieves something already known, while düşünmek generates a new thought — different cognitive jobs, different verbs.

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• hatırlamak and unutmak are grammatical twins: both take a definite object in the accusative, and both take a -DIK complement (or -(y)AcAK for future events) when the object is a fact or event rather than a thing.
• unutmak also means "to leave (something) behind by accident" — Turkish does not separate "forget" from "leave."
• "Forget to do X" is X-mAyI unutmak, with the action nominalized: aramayı unutma. The imperative Unutma! / Unutmayın! is everyday vocabulary.
• hatırlatmak is the causative "to remind": the person reminded goes in the dative (bana hatırlat), and the same verb covers resemblance — X bana Y'yi hatırlatıyor "X reminds me of Y."
• Aorists hatırlar / unutur give the habitual, characterising reading; unutmam is a common way to say "I won't forget."