Thread: поминать vs вспоминать

Privet
Разница между вспоминать и поминать?
Please provide examples.

Поминать should be used with caution as it is often used in the meaning 'to remember the dead, or hold a wake'; some dictionaries also say it's an old-fashioned form of вспоминать, it's often used in proverbs and set phrases where older forms are often seen.

Examples:

Помяните моё слово! (You shall remember my words!, sounds quite emotional),
Помянуть добрым словом - To remember someone and say something good about them,
Поминать погибших (To remember the dead/killed)

My problem alex is that I never use вспоминать because I don't know when to use it. I use поминать in all cases when I want to convey the meaning of remember

Maybe you mean the word "помнить"?

As in Я не помню ничего = I don't remember anything.
You can use вспоминать/вспомнить in Не могу вспомнить ни одной известной книги на букву М = I can't think of any famous book starting with M.
Я пытаюсь вспомнить, как она выглядит = I am trying to recall what she looks like.

Generally, вспомнить/вспоминать implies active act of trying to recall or remember, or actively retrieve from memory.
Помнить is holding in memory passively. (cf, Я помню об этом = I remember about it; Я вспомню об этом, если меня не отвлекут = I will be able to recall that if I am not distracted, Попытайтесь вспомнить, как это произошло = Try to recall how this has happened).

There are three different verbs:
1. помнить / запомнить = remember (passive action)
2. вспоминать / вспомнить = remember (energetic action requiring effort)
3. поминать / помянуть = commemorate

Some examples:
1. It is impossible to remember which formula to use in order to solve this exercise = Невозможно вспомнить математическую формулу с которей вы можете решить эту задачу
2. I remember the beautiful time we spend in England = Помню хорошее время мы провели в Англии
3. We remember my grandmother = Мы поминаем свою бабушку (we implied that she is dead)

Поминки is a ritual action. Поминать/помянуть = to perform the ritual of поминки. (Other meanings are archaic.)
вспоминать / вспомнить = to recall to memory
помнить = to keep in memory
запомнить = to memorize

(word "remember" has too many meanings)

запомнить (perfective) = to memorize, it's a moment when you place something specific in your memory or you already did it in the past.
Я запомню то, что ты сказал. Я запомнил её лицо.
Policeman: Вы запомнили, как выглядел грабитель?
You: Нет, но я запомнил номер его машины.
Usually, it's an active process. You make some efforts to remember, you accent this action.
You: Запомните, клиенты из России - самые важные клиенты для нас!
Your staff: Хорошо, мы запомнили!

помнить (imperfective) = to remember, when you have the information in your memory constantly.
Я буду помнить о своем погибшем друге. (the future tense adds some expression here, it's kinda 'I will never forget', so don't use it in ordinary speech coz it sounds a bit pompous)
Я помню номер её телефона.
Раньше я помнил лица всех одноклассников (classmates), но сейчас стал забывать (started forgetting).

вспоминать (imperfective) = to remember, to recall, it's a process of getting the information out of your memory.
Я вспоминаю её часто.
Я буду вспоминать о ней каждый день.
Я вспоминал о ней каждую минуту.

вспомнить (perfective) = to remember, to recall, to recollect, it's a moment when you get something specific out of your memory.
Я вспомнил, как её зовут!
Я надеюсь, что на экзамене я вспомню то, что я учил.
"Вспомнить всё" = "Total Recall" (the movie, a Russian version of the name)
Policeman: Вспомните, куртка какого цвета была на грабителе?
You: Мне тяжело сейчас вспоминать (imperf.), потому что он ударил меня по голове.

поминать/помянуть are uncommon verbs. Their meanings were explained above.

Basically, your sentences are right. However, there some minor errors. Corrected below.

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

1. It is impossible to remember which formula to use in order to solve this exercise = Невозможно вспомнить математическую формулу, с помощью которой вы можете решить эту задачу.
2. I remember the beautiful time we spend in England = Помню хорошее время, которое мы провели в Англии.
3. We remember my grandmother = Мы поминаем мою бабушку (we implied that she is dead)

1. Comma use (a comma between two clauses is mandatory); spelling error (с которой); "решить задачу с формулой" - grammatically maybe correct, but we do not say like that, we say "решить задачу с помощью формулы" or "решить задачу при помощи формулы". You can also say "решить задачу по формуле".

2. A relative pronoun between two clauses is mandatory. The English way of wording (I remember the beautiful time we spend in England), where "which" is omitted (compare: I remember the beautiful time which we spend in England) is impossible in Russian.

3. First: please note: "поминать бабушку" does not mean just "to remember a grandmother who is dead". It means a special ritual of "поминки" with special dishes (mandatory are pancakes with honey) and usually vodka. In Russian culture, "поминки" are held: on the day of funerals; then on 9-th day since one's death; then on 40-th day since one's death; then half a year; a year, and every year on the date of death. That's what it means.
Second: if you say "We remember my grandmother", then "my" is "мою". Your version "Мы поминаем свою бабушку" is understood as "our grandmother", since "свою" is related to "мы".

Hello,
Just want to get it clear in my head:

вспоминать / вспомнить = to recall to memory

Should it be "to recall from memory"?

Thank you,

Scott

Originally Posted by it-ogo

Поминки is a ritual action. Поминать/помянуть = to perform the ritual of поминки. (Other meanings are archaic.)
вспоминать / вспомнить = to recall to memory
помнить = to keep in memory
запомнить = to memorize

(word "remember" has too many meanings)