21 December 2025
How do you say Reminder or Memory in German?
A happy childhood moment, the smell of grandma’s kitchen, a phone alert, or a scar that won’t fade - Germans call it an Erinnerung. Whether it’s something you hold close or something you just don’t want to forget, this word covers it.
The noun Erinnerung means memory or reminder, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. It appears in poetry, psychology, daily life, and your phone’s notification bar.
It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Erinnerung.
Pronunciation
Erinnerung is pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɪnəʁʊŋ], roughly "er-IN-uh-rung," with stress on in.
- The “e” at the start is soft,
- The “rinn” is stressed,
- The ending “ung” has a short u as in "put" and ng as in “sing,” with no separate g sound.
The word has a rhythmic, thoughtful flow - fitting for a concept tied to both heart and mind.
Example sentences:
- Die Erinnerung an unseren Urlaub macht mich glücklich.The memory of our vacation makes me happy.
- Ich habe mir eine Erinnerung im Kalender eingetragen.I set a reminder in my calendar.
Nuance and usage tips
Erinnerung has two main meanings:
- Memory - something remembered
- Kindheitserinnerung - childhood memory
- schöne / schmerzhafte Erinnerung - beautiful / painful memory
- In guter Erinnerung behalten - to remember fondly
- Reminder - a prompt to not forget
- Zahlungserinnerung - payment reminder
- Erinnerung per E-Mail - reminder via email
- automatische Erinnerung - automatic reminder
A useful contrast for remembering is:
- For memory: Vergessen (neuter, das Vergessen) - forgetting
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:Die Erinnerung kam plötzlich zurück.The memory suddenly came back.
- Accusative:Ich habe keine Erinnerung an den Abend.I have no memory of the evening.
- Dative:Mit der Erinnerung kamen die Tränen.With the memory came the tears.
- Genitive:Wegen der Erinnerung konnte er nicht schlafen.Because of the memory, he couldn’t sleep.
Feminine case pattern: die, die, der, der
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- sich erinnern an (+ Akk.) - to remember
- Erinnerungsstück - keepsake / memento
- Gedächtnis - memory (as a cognitive function, e.g. short-term memory)
- Erinnerungsfoto - commemorative photo
- Erinnerungskultur - culture of remembrance (often in historical/political contexts)
- Erinnerungslücke - memory gap
Cultural note:In Germany, Erinnerung plays a key role in how the country processes its history, especially around World War II and the Holocaust. The term kollektive Erinnerung (collective memory) and Erinnerungskultur are widely used in education, memorials, and national discourse.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Erinnerung
🎥 Learn Erinnerung and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:Watch the 1000 German Nouns video course
Alternate translations note:For the faculty of memory, as in “good memory” (cognitive ability), Gedächtnis is used instead of Erinnerung. And to remind someone of something is jemanden an etwas erinnern: Erinnere mich bitte daran! (Please remind me!) But for personal memories or reminders, Erinnerung is always your word.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Druck means? How about Falle? Find out!
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