기억하다 (gieokada) Conjugation: Meaning, Forms & Examples

Key Facts

• Hangul: 기억하다 (gieokada)
• Meaning: to remember
• Level: A2
• Stem: 기억하
• Class: 하다 type
• Objects: transitive
• Honorific polite: 기억하세요

What Does 기억하다 Mean?

• to remember. Used for remembering a person, event or fact: 이름을 기억하다 (to remember a name).

The thing you remember takes 을/를. 기억하다 is used in both speech and writing and often pairs with 잘 (잘 기억하다, to remember well). The related expression 기억나다, or 기억이 나다, means that something comes back to mind by itself.

How Do You Pronounce 기억하다?

The dictionary form is read [기어카다] and romanized gieokada. The ㄱ at the end of 기억 meets the ㅎ of 하, and the two merge into a single aspirated ㅋ. Because this happens inside the stem, it affects every form: 기억해요 is read [기어캐요] and 기억했어요 is read [기어캐써요]. In the formal 기억합니다 [기어캄니다], the ㅂ before ㄴ is also pronounced [ㅁ]. The table below lists every form.

How Do You Use 기억하다 in a Sentence?

그날을 (that day) is the object, and 저는 makes the speaker explicit.

This is a resolution about vocabulary: 꼭 (definitely) strengthens the future 기억할 거예요.

The past modifier 기억한 describes the noun 내용, so 기억한 내용 means 'what you remembered'.

How Does Gieokada Conjugation Work?

Is 기억하다 Regular or Irregular?

기억하다 is a standard 하다 verb: before an ending that starts with 아/어, 하 becomes 해, giving 기억해요 and 기억했어요.

Common Mistake with 기억하다

Wrong: ✗ 이름을 기억 안 해요 (when you mean 'I can't remember the name')

Correct: ✓ 이름이 기억 안 나요

Why: 이름을 기억 안 해요 sounds like a choice not to remember. When a name simply won't come back to you, use 기억이 안 나요, with the forgotten thing marked by 이/가.

기억하다 Versus 잊다

Remembering a Promise after Class

A teacher checks whether Alex remembers the date of an exam. Alex confirms remembering it and promises to keep the date in mind.

Jisu

Alex

Jisu

Alex

날짜를 marks the date as the remembered information. 기억하세요 is a reminder addressed to the learner; 기억할 거예요 is the learner’s promise. 꼭 strengthens that promise to “definitely”. It does not change the conjugation or guarantee that the speaker will actually remember when Friday arrives.

Remembering, Memorizing and Recalling

잘 기억하다 means to remember well or clearly. 잘 can describe how clearly a memory remains, rather than success in a memorization exercise. 꼭 기억하다 means to be sure to remember. You will meet it in reminders about dates, names and instructions that someone does not want you to forget.

기억에 남다 literally means to remain in memory. Its natural English meaning is to be memorable or stay with you. A trip, a conversation or a teacher can remain in someone’s memory without any deliberate effort to memorize them. Here 에 marks memory as the place where the impression remains.

기억이 나다 means that a memory comes to mind. Compare 이름을 기억하다, remembering a name, with 이름이 기억나다, the name coming back to you. For a failed attempt to recall it, 이름이 기억 안 나요 is a natural response. The subject marker changes because the sentence is now about what comes to mind.

외우다 is the verb for learning something by heart. You can memorize a phone number with 외우다 and later remember it with 기억하다. The two actions belong to the same learning process, but a memory of yesterday’s lunch normally does not involve deliberate memorization.

Where Will You Hear 기억하다?

Teachers use 기억하세요 for reminders, and friends ask 기억해요? when bringing up an earlier meeting or conversation. Stories and dramas use the verb to connect the present with past events. A question about a shared memory can leave out its object if both speakers already know the person or event being discussed.

In a personal message, 기억할 거예요 can promise to keep someone or something in mind. In classroom language, the same form may be a resolution to retain a useful word. The object determines whether the tone is emotional, practical or instructional; the future form itself does not mean “memorize”.

기억합니다 is the formal version of remembering, suitable for a formal statement or a public recollection. 기억하세요 can be either an honorific description of a respected person or a request to remember. In the classroom dialogue, directly addressing Alex makes it a request.

Keep the Spelling Even When You Hear ㅋ

The spelling 기억하 stays visible throughout the verb, including 기억하면 and 기억하는. The aspiration explained above changes the sound of ㄱ plus ㅎ; it does not replace the written stem with a spelling based on ㅋ. Reading the Hangul and listening to the audio together helps you connect the same root across its forms.

For the short negative, write 기억 안 해요, with 안 before 해요. For the long negative, write 기억하지 않아요. When you mean that recall is failing right now, 기억이 안 나요 expresses that situation more directly than a negative statement about remembering.

The 하다 conjugation lesson explains the 해요 ending separately from the sound change inside 기억하다.

For memorizing classroom words and instructions, see Korean school vocabulary.

Mini Drill: Choose the Memory Pattern

1. Complete “remember the name”: 이름____ 기억해요.
2. Give the polite past of 기억하다.
3. Give the polite reminder form used by the teacher.
4. Choose the recall pattern: 이름을 기억 안 나요 or 이름이 기억 안 나요.

Quick Self-Test

1. Which verb means deliberately learning something by heart?
2. What does 기억에 남다 mean naturally in English?
3. Does the sound ㅋ change the written 기억하 stem?

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Say I Can't Remember a Name?

Say 이름이 기억 안 나요. The name is marked with 이/가 because it is what fails to come to mind.

Why Is the Polite Present Pronounced [기어캐요]?

The final ㄱ of 기억 and the ㅎ of 하 combine into the aspirated sound ㅋ, so 기억해요 is read [기어캐요].

Does 기억하다 Take 을/를?

Yes. What you remember takes 을/를, as in 저는 그날을 기억해요 (I remember that day).

What Is 기억나다?

기억나다 (or 기억이 나다) means that something comes back to mind by itself. Its negative, 기억이 안 나요, means 'I can't remember'.

Which Words Are Related to 기억하다?

• 잊다
• 외우다
• 생각하다
• 알다

What Should You Learn Next?

Compare 잊다 and 외우다, then 생각하다 and 알다 from the related list. Test any form in the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the verb dictionary.