覚える・憶える|おぼえるoboeru[3]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Which spelling to use
覚える覚える（おぼえる） is the most common written form; use it as your default choice when writing this word.
憶える憶える（おぼえる） is rarely used, so you will seldom see it; choose 覚える（おぼえる） instead when writing this word.
Definitions
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto memorize; to memorise; to commit to memory; to learn by heart; to bear in mind; to remember
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto learn; to pick up; to acquire
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto feel
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto think; to regard
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 覚える（おぼえる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 覚えます（おぼえます） |
| Negative (nai) | 覚えない（おぼえない） |
| polite (masen) | 覚えません（おぼえません） |
| classical zu / nu | 覚えず・覚えぬ（おぼえず・おぼえぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 覚えた（おぼえた） |
| polite (mashita) | 覚えました（おぼえました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 覚えなかった（おぼえなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 覚えませんでした（おぼえませんでした） |
| Te form | 覚えて（おぼえて） |
| Potential | 覚えられる（おぼえられる） |
| Passive | 覚えられる（おぼえられる） |
| Causative | 覚えさせる（おぼえさせる） |
| Causative passive | 覚えさせられる（おぼえさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 覚えれば（おぼえれば） |
| tara | 覚えたら（おぼえたら） |
| Volitional | 覚えよう（おぼえよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 覚えましょう（おぼえましょう） |
| Imperative | 覚えろ（おぼえろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym暗記あんきNeutralRote memorization — learning by heart so you can recite without looking, as in 「単語を暗記する」. 覚える also covers picking up skills and feeling something.
- Synonym感ずるかんずるWrittenAn old-fashioned equivalent of 「感じる」: to feel or be moved. It is about feeling, not memorizing; in daily speech 「感じる」 is the normal choice.
- Related感じ取るかんじとるNeutralTo pick up on an atmosphere or on people's words and behavior, as in 「雰囲気を感じ取る」; it stresses grasping what's around you, while the 'feel' of 覚える is your own feelings.
- Related思うおもうNeutralTo think or feel that something is so — the broadest everyday word. 覚える in the sense of feeling, as in 「不安を覚える」, is more formal and never expresses judgment.
- Related記憶きおくNeutralA formal Sino-Japanese word for memory or something remembered, as in 「記憶に残る」; also computer storage. More formal than 覚える and never means learning a skill.
- Related自覚じかくWrittenWritten and formal: awareness of your own position or condition, as in 「自覚症状」. 覚える is not limited to awareness of yourself.
- Related察するさっするWrittenFormal: to sense by inference, as in 「気持ちを察する」 — working out how someone else feels. The 'feel' of 覚える is about your own feelings.
- Related感知かんちWrittenWritten: sensing signs around you; also used for devices detecting changes. The 'feel' of 覚える refers to a person's own feelings.
- Related知るしるNeutralTo know or find out — about gaining information. 覚える is about keeping that information in memory or mastering a skill.
- Related知覚ちかくWrittenA psychology term for perceiving the outside world through the senses; rare in daily use. To say you feel something, use 覚える or 「感じる」.
- Related感受かんじゅWrittenWritten: taking in outside stimuli, seen mostly in compounds such as 「感受性」. For everyday 'feel', use 覚える or 「感じる」.
- Antonym忘れるわすれるNeutralThe antonym of 覚える in its memorize sense: to forget. It also means leaving something behind somewhere.
Use 「覚える」 by default for memorizing and for picking up a skill; it also covers feeling something, as in 「不安を覚える」. Use 「暗記」 for learning by heart, 「記憶」 for formal talk of memory, 「知る」 for finding out, and 「感じ取る」 or 「察する」 for reading others' feelings. For thinking or judging, use 「思う」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
