# 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

/omo$_2$pu/ → /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: [o̞bo̞e̞ɾɯ̟]
* 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))
* 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) [Chapitre 2: The Cost of Memory]”, in ツバサ ＲＥＳＥＲＶｏｉｒ ＣＨＲｏＮｉＣＬＥ [Tsubasa: 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—!!
* 覚える: to learn
    料理(りょうり)を覚(おぼ)える
       ryōri o oboeru
       to learn to cook
* 覚える, 憶える: to memorize
    歌(か)詞(し)を覚(おぼ)える
       kashi o oboeru
       to memorize lyrics
* 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

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

### References

* 1 2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN