запоминать vs запомнить

zapominat vs zapomnit — memorize as a process vs remember once

What it really means

Запомина́ть is imperfective and focuses on the process of memorizing, a repeated effort, or the ability to retain information. Запо́мнить is perfective and presents one piece of information as successfully committed to memory. The prefix за- marks the information as fixed in memory.

Use запоминать when describing study or a general learning habit. Use запомнить when asking someone to remember one fact or reporting that you have learned it successfully.

Examples in natural speech

Я запоминаю новые слова.
I am memorizing new words.
Ей легко запоминать лица.
It is easy for her to remember faces.
Запомни этот адрес.
Remember this address.
Я запомнил его имя.
I remembered his name.
Эту мелодию трудно запомнить.
This melody is hard to remember.

Common mistakes

Do not use запомнить for the whole study process: "Я запоминаю слова" means I am memorizing words. Use запомнить when the target is one completed memory or a request to retain a particular fact.

Memory tip

Запоминать is putting information into memory; запомнить is having it stick.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between запоминать and запомнить?

Запоминать describes memorizing as a process, habit, or repeated effort. Запомнить presents one fact or item as successfully remembered.

How do you say remember this in Russian?

Say "Запомни это" to tell one person to remember this. The perfective imperative treats the memory result as the goal.

Is запомнить the same as помнить?

No. Запомнить means commit something to memory or remember it successfully; помнить means have it in memory or remember it as a current state.

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