Imperfective: запам’ято́вувати — "to memorize / to be committing to memory (as a process or habit)" Perfective: запам’ята́ти — "to memorize, commit to memory (once, successfully)" Type: a suffix-derived aspect pair — the imperfective adds the long -овува- suffix to the perfective stem
запам’ято́вувати / запам’ята́ти is the verb for the act of fixing something in your memory — getting a number, a name, a rule to stick. It sits inside a three-way set that English blurs under "remember": запам’ята́ти is the taking-in ("commit to memory"), пам’ята́ти is the holding ("remember = have in memory, a state"), and згада́ти / зга́дувати is the retrieving ("recall, call to mind"). Choosing the right one is a genuine pain point for English speakers. On top of that, both halves carry the apostrophe in пам’ят- — a spelling that learners routinely drop — and the imperfective has the unusually long -овува- suffix.
The apostrophe — why it is there
In пам’ят-, the labial м is followed by the iotated vowel я. Ukrainian inserts an apostrophe to show that the я is pronounced as a full ya glide [ja], not as a softening of the м. Drop the apostrophe and you have changed the pronunciation and made a spelling error. The apostrophe character is ’ (U+2019), not a straight quote. This м’я sequence recurs across the whole family: пам’ять, пам’ятка, запам’ята́ти, безпам’ятство.
Сло́во «пам’ять» завжди́ пи́шемо з апостро́фом пі́сля «м».
We always write the word 'memory' with an apostrophe after the 'm'. — the м’я rule in action.
Present tense — запам’ято́вувати (imperfective only)
Only the imperfective запам’ято́вувати has a present tense. The -овува- of the infinitive becomes -ову- before the endings, giving a regular first-conjugation set. Stress is fixed on the -я- of пам’ят throughout.
| Person | запам’ято́вувати — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | запам’ято́вую | I memorize / am memorizing |
| ти | запам’ято́вуєш | you memorize (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | запам’ято́вує | he / she / it memorizes |
| ми | запам’ято́вуємо | we memorize |
| ви | запам’ято́вуєте | you memorize (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | запам’ято́вують | they memorize |
The present describes the ongoing process of memorizing or a general capacity ("I memorize easily").
Я ле́гко запам’ято́вую обли́ччя, а от імена́ — катастро́фа.
I memorize faces easily, but names — a disaster. — present запам’ято́вую as a general ability.
Ді́ти в цьо́му ві́ці запам’ято́вують ві́рші бу́квально за пів годи́ни.
Children at this age memorize poems in literally half an hour. — habitual present запам’ято́вують.
Past tense — запам’ято́вував / запам’ята́в
Both aspects take the gendered -в / -ла / -ло / -ли endings, with stress on -я- (pf.) or -о- of -ову- (impf.).
| Gender / number | Perfective запам’ята́ти | Imperfective запам’ято́вувати |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | запам’ята́в | запам’ято́вував |
| feminine | запам’ята́ла | запам’ято́вувала |
| neuter | запам’ята́ло | запам’ято́вувало |
| plural | запам’ята́ли | запам’ято́вували |
The perfective past is the everyday "I memorized it (and now I have it)." The imperfective past describes the process or repeated effort.
Я одра́зу запам’ята́в її́ но́мер — він закі́нчувався на мою́ да́ту наро́дження.
I memorized her number right away — it ended with my birth date. — perfective past запам’ята́в, one successful act.
Він до́вго запам’ято́вував текст промо́ви, та все одно́ збива́вся.
He spent a long time memorizing the text of the speech, yet still kept stumbling. — imperfective past запам’ято́вував, an extended process.
Future tense — perfective запам’ята́ти vs imperfective запам’ято́вувати
The perfective запам’ята́ти has no present; its conjugated forms are future. It is a regular first-conjugation verb, stress fixed on -я- of пам’ят.
| Person | Perfective simple future (запам’ята́ти) | Imperfective analytic (бу́ду…) | Imperfective synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|---|
| я | запам’ята́ю | бу́ду запам’ято́вувати | запам’ято́вуватиму |
| ти | запам’ята́єш | бу́деш запам’ято́вувати | запам’ято́вуватимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | запам’ята́є | бу́де запам’ято́вувати | запам’ято́вуватиме |
| ми | запам’ята́ємо | бу́демо запам’ято́вувати | запам’ято́вуватимемо |
| ви | запам’ята́єте | бу́дете запам’ято́вувати | запам’ято́вуватимете |
| вони́ | запам’ята́ють | бу́дуть запам’ято́вувати | запам’ято́вуватимуть |
The perfective future names one successful act of committing to memory ("I'll memorize / I'll remember this"); the imperfective futures describe a future process.
Запиши́, бо я то́чно не запам’ята́ю всі ці кро́ки напа́м’ять.
Write it down, because I definitely won't memorize all these steps by heart. — perfective future запам’ята́ю, one act; note напа́м’ять also has the apostrophe.
Із цим за́стосунком ти запам’ято́вуватимеш по два́дцять нови́х слів на день.
With this app you'll be memorizing twenty new words a day. — imperfective synthetic future запам’ято́вуватимеш, an ongoing routine.
Imperative — запам’ята́й vs запам’ято́вуй
The perfective запам’ята́й / запам’ята́йте is by far the common one — "remember this, get this fixed in your head." The imperfective запам’ято́вуй / запам’ято́вуйте advises an ongoing method ("keep memorizing as you go").
| Addressee | Perfective запам’ята́ти | Imperfective запам’ято́вувати |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | запам’ята́й | запам’ято́вуй |
| ви (formal / plural) | запам’ята́йте | запам’ято́вуйте |
| 3rd person (let him/them) | хай / неха́й запам’ята́є | хай / неха́й запам’ято́вує |
Запам’ята́й раз і наза́вжди: ми не зда́мося.
Remember this once and for all: we won't give up. — perfective imperative запам’ята́й, a firm one-off instruction.
Запам’ято́вуй незнайо́мі слова́ відра́зу, не відклада́й на по́тім.
Memorize unfamiliar words straight away, don't put it off. — imperfective imperative запам’ято́вуй, an ongoing method.
Participles and the contrast set
| Form / verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| passive past participle (pf.) | запам’ято́ваний "memorized" |
| пам’ята́ти (impf. only) | "to remember = hold in memory (a state)" |
| зга́дувати / згада́ти | "to recall, call to mind (retrieve)" |
| imperfective verbal adverb | запам’ято́вуючи "(while) memorizing" |
пам’ята́ти has no perfective partner of its own — being a state, it lives only in the imperfective (you can't "complete" remembering). When you want the entry point (start to have in memory) you switch to запам’ята́ти; when you want the retrieval you switch to згада́ти.
Я пам’ята́ю його́ обли́ччя, але́ нія́к не мо́жу згада́ти і́мені.
I remember his face, but I just can't recall his name. — state пам’ята́ю vs retrieval згада́ти, side by side.
Key uses & case government
1. запам’ята́ти + accusative
The thing you memorize is the direct object in the accusative: a number, a word, a face, a route. See accusative uses.
Спро́буй запам’ята́ти доро́гу, бо навіга́тор тут не лови́ть.
Try to memorize the route, because the sat-nav doesn't get a signal here. — accusative object доро́гу.
2. запам’ята́ти + subordinate clause (що / як / де…)
Very often the object is a whole clause — what happened, how to do something, where things are.
Запам’ята́й, де ми припаркува́лися, бо парко́вка величе́зна.
Remember where we parked, the car park's enormous. — clausal object introduced by де.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я не пам’ята́ю, як його́ зва́ти, заче́кай...
Verb-choice error — groping for something you once knew is RECALL, so use згада́ти: Я не мо́жу згада́ти, як його́ зва́ти. (пам’ята́ти = the ongoing state of having it in memory.)
✅ Я не мо́жу згада́ти, як його́ зва́ти, заче́кай...
I can't recall his name, hold on...
❌ Я запамятаю твій но́мер.
Spelling error — the м’я needs an apostrophe (U+2019): not *запамятаю but запам’ята́ю.
✅ Я запам’ята́ю твій но́мер.
I'll memorize your number.
❌ Я бу́ду запам’ята́ти цей рецепт.
The auxiliary бу́ду takes an IMPERFECTIVE infinitive; the perfective запам’ята́ти forms its own future: Я запам’ята́ю цей реце́пт (one act) or Я бу́ду запам’ято́вувати реце́пти (habit).
✅ Я запам’ята́ю цей реце́пт.
I'll memorize this recipe.
❌ Ді́ти швидко запам’ята́ють но́ві слова́ щодня́.
Aspect error — a daily, ongoing process needs the IMPERFECTIVE: Ді́ти швидко запам’ято́вують но́ві слова́ щодня́. The perfective запам’ята́ють points to one completed act, which clashes with щодня́.
✅ Ді́ти швидко запам’ято́вують но́ві слова́ щодня́.
Children quickly memorize new words every day.
❌ Я ві́дразу запам’я́тав твоє́ обли́ччя.
Stress error — stress sits on the -я- of -ята-: not *запам’я́тав but запам’ята́в.
✅ Я ві́дразу запам’ята́в твоє́ обли́ччя.
I memorized your face right away.
Key Takeaways
- Three memory verbs: запам’ята́ти = memorize (take in), пам’ята́ти = remember (a state, imperfective only), згада́ти = recall (retrieve). English "remember" hides all three.
- Apostrophe is mandatory: пам’ят- with ’ (U+2019) — запам’ято́вувати, запам’ята́ти, напа́м’ять.
- Perfective future: запам’ята́ю, запам’ята́єш… — this is the future; the perfective has no present.
- Object is accusative (запам’ята́ти но́мер) or a subordinate clause (запам’ята́й, де…).
- Stress stays on the -я- of пам’ят throughout (запам’ята́в, not *запам’я́тав).
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