The German language actually has two words for “memory”. One is “Gedächtnis” (n.) and can be defined as the collection of knowledge about the past, and “Erinnerung” (f.) as the retrieval and mental reproduction of past impressions. To put it a different way, “Gedächtnis” is like a hard drive and “Erinnerung” is like the act of opening a file.

Also, “Gedächtnis” usually refers to hard facts and concrete data that one has memorized (such as the population density of Bejing), whereas “Erinnerung” is less specific (the memory of one’s first kiss):

– “Er kann Fakten gut im Gedächtnis behalten.” – “He’s good at keeping facts in his memory.”
– “Das weckt in mir Erinnerungen.” – “That awakens memories in me.”

The good news is that the English word “remember” and “remind” are both summed up neatly in only one word in German – “erinnern”:

“Erinnere mich noch einmal.” – “Remind me again.”
“Ich erinnere mich nicht.” – “I don’t remember.”