覚える

Japanese

Kanji in this term
覚
おぼ Grade: 4
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
覺える (kyūjitai) 憶える

Etymology

/omo₂pu/ → /omwopoju/ → /omwoɸoju/ → /omoɸoju/ → /oboɸoju/ → /oboju/ → /obojuru/ → /obojeru/ → /oboeru/

Ultimately from Old Japanese verb 思ふ (omopu, modern 思う omou, “to think (about or of something)”). The historical derivation is roughly as follows:

• the 未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis form”) omopa of Old Japanese verb 思ふ (omopu, “think”, modern 思う omou) + ゆ (yu, Old Japanese verb suffix denoting intransitive, spontaneous, or passive action):

omopayu → omopoyu

The 思ほゆ (omopoyu) form is found in the Nihon Shoki and the Man'yōshū.

• contraction and regular sound changes:

omopoyu → omofoyu → obowoyu → oboyu

This change is already evident by the early Heian period.

• regular historical grammatical shifts occurring for classical 下二段活用 (shimo nidan katsuyō, “lower bigrade conjugation”) verbs:

oboyu → oboyuru → oboyeru → oboeru

This set of shifts occurred during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods.

The verb was originally used in intransitive and passive contexts, in accordance with its derivation. It began to be used in more active and transitive contexts starting from roughly the mid-Heian period, with the learn and memorize senses appearing in the Kamakura period.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) おぼえ​る [òbóéꜜrù] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [o̞bo̞e̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

• Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "覚える"

Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形)	覚える	おぼえ​る	[òbóéꜜrù]
Imperative (命令形)	覚えろ	おぼえ​ろ	[òbóéꜜrò]
Key constructions
Passive	覚えられる	おぼえられ​る	[òbóéráréꜜrù]
Causative	覚えさせる	おぼえさせ​る	[òbóésáséꜜrù]
Potential	覚えられる	おぼえられ​る	[òbóéráréꜜrù]
Volitional	覚えよう	おぼえよ​ー	[òbóéyóꜜò]
Negative	覚えない	おぼえ​ない	[òbóéꜜnàì]
Negative perfective	覚えなかった	おぼえ​なかった	[òbóéꜜnàkàttà]
Formal	覚えます	おぼえま​す	[òbóémáꜜsù]
Perfective	覚えた	おぼ​えた	[òbóꜜètà]
Conjunctive	覚えて	おぼ​えて	[òbóꜜètè]
Hypothetical conditional	覚えれば	おぼえ​れば	[òbóéꜜrèbà]

Verb

覚(おぼ)える • (oboeru) transitive ichidan (stem 覚(おぼ)え (oboe), past 覚(おぼ)えた (oboeta))

1. 覚える, 憶える: to recall, to remember
   • 2003 August 12, CLAMP, “Chapitre(シャピトル).2(に) 記(き)憶(おく)の対(たい)価(か)”, in ツバサ ＲＥＳＥＲＶｏｉｒ ＣＨＲｏＮｉＣＬＥ (ツバサ ＲＥＳＥＲＶｏｉｒ ＣＨＲｏＮｉＣＬＥ), volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN, page 74:

     てめー！覚(おぼ)えてろよ——‼

     Temē! Oboetero yo——‼

     Just you wait, bitch—!!

2. 覚える: to learn

   料理(りょうり)を覚(おぼ)える

   ryōri o oboeru

   to learn to cook

3. 覚える, 憶える: to memorize

   歌(か)詞(し)を覚(おぼ)える

   kashi o oboeru

   to memorize lyrics

4. 覚える: to feel (an emotion or sense)

   違(い)和(わ)感(かん)を覚(おぼ)える

   iwakan o oboeru

   to get the sense that something is off

Conjugation

Conjugation of "覚える" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	覚え	おぼえ	oboe
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	覚え	おぼえ	oboe
Shūshikei ("terminal")	覚える	おぼえる	oboeru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	覚える	おぼえる	oboeru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	覚えれ	おぼえれ	oboere
Meireikei ("imperative")	覚えよ¹ 覚えろ²	おぼえよ¹ おぼえろ²	oboeyo¹ oboero²
Key constructions
Passive	覚えられる	おぼえられる	oboerareru
Causative	覚えさせる 覚えさす	おぼえさせる おぼえさす	oboesaseru oboesasu
Potential	覚えられる 覚えれる³	おぼえられる おぼえれる³	oboerareru oboereru³
Volitional	覚えよう	おぼえよう	oboeyō
Negative	覚えない 覚えぬ 覚えん	おぼえない おぼえぬ おぼえん	oboenai oboenu oboen
Negative continuative	覚えず	おぼえず	oboezu
Formal	覚えます	おぼえます	oboemasu
Perfective	覚えた	おぼえた	oboeta
Conjunctive	覚えて	おぼえて	oboete
Hypothetical conditional	覚えれば	おぼえれば	oboereba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative ³ Colloquial potential

Synonyms

• (recall, remember): 思(おも)い出(だ)す (omoidasu)

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "recall, remember"): 忘(わす)れる (wasureru): to forget