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记得 (jì de) — to remember

Definition

记得 (jì de) means 'to remember' in everyday speech — it can take a clause (记得+他住哪里) or a noun (记得我的名字). Pairs with 忘记 ('to forget') as its opposite.

verb
to remember

Examples

  • 记得？
    Nǐ hái jì de wǒ de míng zì ma?
    Do you still remember my name?
  • 记得。
    Wǒ bú jì de tā zhù zài nǎ lǐ.
    I don't remember where he lives.
  • 记得？
    Nǐ jì de zuó tiān chī le shén me ma?
    Do you remember what you ate yesterday?

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

记jìremember
得déresult

记 means remember, and 得 expresses that it stays in mind.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 2500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsThinking & Cognition2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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