# Swedish: erinra sig, minnas, komma ihåg, komma på



## mihi

Hejsan!

*erinra sig, minnas, komma ihåg, komma på*

What are the differences in nuance and formality between these Swedish words for _remember/recall_?
Which is considered the "usual" word for _remember_? (i.e. the most neutral/commonly used)

Thank you so much!


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## MattiasNYC

I'd say that "att erinra sig" is probably less commonly used, and arguably a bit old-fashioned.

The second two mean roughly the same thing and I would argue either is useful and none is preferred, generally speaking.

The last actually has a different meaning the way I see it. Rather than recalling something from memory it is about discovering something. If you figure out how to operate the remote control to your new TV you might say "Äntligen! Jag kommit på hur den fungerar!" (Finally! I've figured out how it works!)


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## AutumnOwl

MattiasNYC said:


> "Äntligen! Jag har kommit på hur den fungerar!"


_Komma på_ can also be used about figure out or remember something you have forgotten:
_Nu kom jag på vad det var jag glömde att köpa_ - Now I remember what I forgot to buy.

_Jag kommer ihåg att det var något jag skulle minnas att göra, men jag kommer inte på vad._ I remember there was something I should remember to do, but I don't remember what.


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## applefarm

This my hypothetical guess:

att komma på = come to smth. Like "i came to idea/solution".

ett minne = memory of the brain. This is a physiological term. The area of the brain that saves information. Corresponding verb "att minnas" means "to remember smth, to have something inside your brains memory area and using it by saying out that you info from memory".

en  håg = a mind or a soul. This is a philosophical term. A mind/soul is a compound of several things that makes up a human virtual being, it consist of memory, emotions, and other such things that cannot be touched. 

So, the corresponding verbs of those two given substantives means the same, that information is taken out from memory.

Verb "att minnas" means "to remember by having info in physical brain area", and "att komma ihåg" means "to remember by having info in your mind/soul".

One verb uses philosophical substantiv, the other uses physiological term.


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## DerFrosch

applefarm said:


> att komma på = come to smth. Like "i came to idea/solution".



Note that the stress in this phrase is on _på_, not _komma_. Your understanding seem to be correct; it's about getting hold of a piece information (that is hidden somewhere in you mind.



applefarm said:


> ett minne = memory of the brain. This is a physiological term. The area of the brain that saves information. Corresponding verb "att minnas" means "to remember smth, to have something inside your brains memory area and using it by saying out that you info from memory".



I basically agree with this, except _minnas _doesn't imply saying the information out loud (if that's what you meant; there seems to be a typo in your comment).



applefarm said:


> en håg = a mind or a soul. This is a philosophical term. A mind/soul is a compound of several things that makes up a human virtual being, it consist of memory, emotions, and other such things that cannot be touched.



Again, this is pretty much correct (although I don't mean what you mean by "virtual"). However, _håg _is quite seldom used in contemporary Swedish, it's considered poetic style today. (It's still used in a few set phrases, though, like _glad i hågen_: cheerful, merry).



applefarm said:


> Verb "att minnas" means "to remember by having info in physical brain area", and "att komma ihåg" means "to remember by having info in your mind/soul".
> 
> One verb uses philosophical substantiv, the other uses physiological term.



Careful here. The different etymological backgrounds do NOT mean that _komma ihåg _has any philosophical connotations, and it's not poetic either. The fact that the noun _håg _is part of the phrase _komma ihåg_ is not something we think about when using the latter.

_Komma ihåg_ and _minnas_ are really quite similar in meaning and interchangeable in many (probably most) cases.

One difference is that _komma ihåg_ is often used about a well-defined piece of information, i.e. a name, a series of number, or a task someone asked you to do. _Minnas _is normally very much possible in these cases too, but not quite as common.

_Minnas _on the other hand tends to be more commonly used when we're talking about something we've experienced in our lives, it may be a certain day or a period in your life. Also, it's often used if the object is a person.

For example, you would say:

_Jag minns honom som en god vän. _(I remember him as a good friend.)

rather than:

_Jag kommer ihåg honom som en god vän._


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## applefarm

Thank you for explanations.

I would add to my previous post some more explanatory text here:

In Estonian language the 2 corresponding phrases are:

1) Jag _kommer inte i*håg*. _
Estonian corresponding phrase: "Mul ei ole *meel*es".
Direct translation into English: "i don't have in *mind*/soul".

2) Jag *minns* inte.
Estonian corresponding phrase: "ma ei *mäleta*".
Direct translation into English: "i don't *remember*".

So, in Estonian language those 2 corresponding phrases exist.
Both phrases means the same. I would say there is no nuance between those. One phrase just uses philosophical term, the other uses physical term.

I guess in literature they can express even more poetically the concept of remembering, for example in Estonian literature you can find phrase like "smth is wiped out from your head", which means that one does not remember smth.



DerFrosch said:


> For example, you would say:
> 
> _Jag minns honom som en god vän. _(I remember him as a good friend.)
> 
> rather than:
> 
> _Jag kommer ihåg honom som en god vän._



Yes, in Estonian language the thing is exactly the same. So now i am sure that my understanding is correct.

One more example:
"Keep/bear in *mind*!" = "Kom i*håg*!".

In English too it is not common to say with one word sentence as:
"Remember (that)!"

Seems like phrase "komma ihåg ngt" means that smth is was activated in brain memory area just recently. For example if you promised yesterday to do some tasks in next day, then this promise's data was put in brain memory area just recently. It is a fresh recent memory and if one asks you if you remember the yesterdays promise, then better to use verb "komma ihåg ngt".
And the phrase "minnas" can check if your physical memory functions normal. Like a question to another adult "do you remember on which year the 2nd Wordl War started?" This checks old data, so better to use word "minnas". But if students just a week ago learned in history class the datum, then it is good to use phrase "komma ihåg ngt", because it is in active recent memory area.

So the one verb uses "mind" which is usually more active memory area than physical memory. Maybe this explanation is correct.


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## AutumnOwl

applefarm said:


> For language learners i wouldsuggest to use "att *minnas*", because it is a simple verb. I suggest to avoid the "att _komma i*håg*_", because it is a complex construction, not a simple verb.


Even if _minnas_ and _komma ihåg_ are more or less interchangeable, there are times when using _minnas_ instead of _komma ihåg_ would sound very odd in Swedish: 
_Kom ihåg att gå till skolan i tid_ - do remember going to school in time
_Minns att gå till skolan i tid_  

To say that _minne_ is something physical and _håg_ is something philosophical is nothing I agree with, to _minnas något_ can be to remember something but _minnet_ is also a function we use to process what we see and experience, and after that be able to make philosophical constructions. From Psykologiguiden:


> Minnet är inget utrymme i psyket eller hjärnan i form av en lagerlokal, utan en funktion som gör att vi vid kontakt med vår omvärld kan känna igen (och inte känna igen), ta fram föreställningar i medvetandet och till dessa kopplade känslor och motiv, använda tidigare erfarenhet vid arbete med nya uppgifter osv.


My view on this have to do with my studies of cognitive science and philosophy of mind.


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## MattiasNYC

AutumnOwl said:


> _Komma på_ can also be used about figure out or remember something you have forgotten:
> _Nu kom jag på vad det var jag glömde att köpa_ - Now I remember what I forgot to buy.
> 
> _Jag kommer ihåg att det var något jag skulle minnas att göra, men jag kommer inte på vad._ I remember there was something I should remember to do, but I don't remember what.



I sort of agree. First of all let me say that I shouldn't have used the word "recall" the way I did, I should have used "remember". To me "remember" can be an almost passive state, whereas recall is closer to a verb, i.e. it's more often used (?) to illustrate that one has tried to recall a memory but it's 'not there'.

So if you take that last example I'd say the last part really sounds like someone engaging in a process of trying to remember. I know it sounds like I'm splitting hairs, but it's different to me than simply not remembering something. I almost feel it'd be more accurate to translate into "I remember there was something I was supposed to remember to do, but I can't figure out (/recall) what." Of course, repeating "remember" would be "funnier", but not as clear. After all, if you're talking about not remembering something you were supposed to, you seem to be in the process of trying to access that memory.

So to me there's a subtle difference, although I'm probably not explaining it very well (I blame that on sitting in a room that's literally above 90 degrees Farenheit and very humid...:-()


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## applefarm

I would add one more try to explain as i understand.

English speaking persons understand this phrase:
"Keep/bear in *mind*!"
This means "pay attention to something" and paying attention means keeping some fact active in mind/memory/consciousness. So, this is actually saving information into memory. You keep in mind, means that you hold active in memory something. It is saving information to memory. When you keep in mind a fact, you actually save/store/remember the fact to your memory for a while.

So, English speaking persons should understand that "mind" is a place where to save/remember information.
But in english language there seems not to exist a phrase of retrieving saved data from "mind".

Example 3 sentences:

Kommer du ihåg det? - Translation: do you remember that? Meaning: do you remember that.
Kommer det ihåg till dig? - Translation: Does it come to your mind? Meaning: do you remember that.
Does it come to your mind? - this sentence is wrong, has no meaning, because English language does not have official phrase for retrieving data from mind.

English has phrase "to come to mind" which means "to find an idea" or "to be reasonable", but it does not mean of retrieving data from mind.

In English language exists only a plain verb "to remember", and there is no synonym for that with "mind".

If english language would hypothetically have a new verb "_kommer_" in meaning "previously memorized info walking into you active mind/head" then one should express "remembering" this way:

Does it _kommer_ to your mind?

The other thng is that "att komma ihåg" means a process, a data comes from somewhere into your conscious. But "att minnas" seems not to be a process. The "att minnas" seems just to check if something exists in memory or not.

Seems like "att komma ihåg" mostly deals with near past, and "att minnas" mostly deals with far past.
Example is that if on previous week teacher tought to students on which year was a war, then this is recent past and therefore better to check that remembering with "komma ihåg". But when students graduate school, then the war's year was learned long years ago, in quite far past, and better to use "att minnas" to check that remembering.
Examples:

Kommer du ihåg när var det andra världskriget? Vi lärde oss om det i förra veckan.
(fresh recent information, therefore "komma ihåg")

Minns du när var det andra världskriget? Vi lärde oss om det i skolan för fem år sedan.
(old information, therefore "Minns")

*This is just my hypothetical understanding. It may be wrong.*


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## DerFrosch

applefarm said:


> But in english language there seems not to exist a phrase of retrieving saved data from "mind".



What about "call to mind_"_? Furtermore both "recall" and "recollect" seem to me to capture that meaning.



applefarm said:


> Kommer det ihåg till dig? - Translation: Does it come to your mind? Meaning: do you remember that.



No, _komma ihåg_ can't be used like that.



applefarm said:


> Does it come to your mind? - this sentence is wrong, has no meaning, because English language does not have official phrase for retrieving data from mind.
> 
> English has phrase "to come to mind" which means "to find an idea" or "to be reasonable", but it does not mean of retrieving data from mind.
> 
> In English language exists only a plain verb "to remember", and there is no synonym for that with "mind".



Wait a minute. No, there's no English verb with this meaning that actually have the verb "mind" as a constituent, but there are nevertheless ways of expressing that idea.

"Does it come to your mind" sounds rather awkward, but it would be possible to say: _Does anything come to mind (when you see this picture)?_


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## DerFrosch

applefarm said:


> Seems like "att komma ihåg" mostly deals with near past, and "att minnas" mostly deals with far past.



Hmm. To a certain degree that's true, and it may be a helpful rule of thumb. However, it's really not that simple.


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## applefarm

In Estonian language there are even 2 different verbs related to "komma ihåg":

1. Does it "kommer" into your mind? - This one is the swedish equivalent "komma ihåg".
2. Is it in you mind? Do you have in your mind when the war was started?
- This one does not exist in swedish. This one means a momentum after "komma ihåg" is done. Swedish equivalent would be "Har du ihåg?" But swedish don't have such phrase.

For Estonian language learner, it would be even more difficult to explain what is different between "coming to mind" and "being in mind", both mean remembering.

But this is an offtopic.


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## Ben Jamin

I have got an impression that:
1. *Minnas *is a description of a state (tilstånd), and is used mostly as an imperfective verb.
2. *Komma i håg* is a description of a change in the situation "it has come to my mind", and is _par excellence_ a perfective verb.

The Norwegian language does not have this possibility of distinguishing between 1. and 2., and it is difficult to say something using the meaning 2. without sounding clumsy.


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## AutumnOwl

applefarm said:


> 2. Is it in you mind? Do you have in your mind when the war was started?
> - This one does not exist in swedish. This one means a momentum after "komma ihåg" is done. Swedish equivalent would be "Har du ihåg?" But swedish don't have such phrase.


There is _"att ha (något) i minnet"_, I don't know if that's what you are after.

There is also _"att dra sig till minnes något"_ - to draw something to memory.


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## DerFrosch

Ben Jamin said:


> I have got an impression that:
> 1. *Minnas *is a description of a state (tilstånd), and is used mostly as an imperfective verb.
> 2. *Komma i håg* is a description of a change in the situation "it has come to my mind", and is _par excellence_ a perfective verb.



I agree with your thoughts about _minnas._

I don't know if you actually meant to write _komma på_, and not _komma ihåg_. In that case your impression is right, but otherwise you're mistaken. _Komma ihåg_ does not describe a change in a situation.


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## Ben Jamin

DerFrosch said:


> I agree with your thoughts about _minnas._
> 
> I don't know if you actually meant to write _komma på_, and not _komma ihåg_. In that case your impression is right, but otherwise you're mistaken. _Komma ihåg_ does not describe a change in a situation.


What about "Jag kom plötslig i håg ..."?


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## DerFrosch

First off, it's always written as a single word: _ihåg_.

But it's a good point, it is possible to say "_Jag kom plötsligt ihåg att ..._".

So maybe that means I have to retract what I wrote earlier:



DerFrosch said:


> _Komma ihåg_ does not describe a change in a situation.



However, _minnas _is no different in this respect. It's equally possible to say: "_Jag mindes plötsligt att ..._". If anything, it's arguably slightly more common.

So I'm still arguing that this decisive difference you perceive doesn't actually exist. If I understand you correctly, your assumption is that only _minnas_, and not _komma ihåg_, is a valid translation of Norwegian _huske_, which seems to me to be a misunderstanding.

Couldn't you say "_Jeg husket plutselig at ..._" in Norwegian?


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