Recordar vs Acordarse
Learn recordar vs acordarse in Spanish: when to use de, how reflexive pronouns work, and how to avoid common mistakes with nouns and clauses introduced by que.
Recordar vs Acordarse: What’s the Difference in Spanish?
Both recordar and acordarse mean “to remember” in Spanish, and in many situations they can express the same idea.
The most important difference is how they are used grammatically:
- recordar + something
- acordarse de + something
Compare:
- Recuerdo su nombre. — I remember her name.
- Me acuerdo de su nombre. — I remember her name.
The meaning is almost the same, but the structure is different.
Recordar: No Preposition
Recordar is used directly with the thing you remember.
Structure
recordar + noun
- Recuerdo su nombre. — I remember her name.
- No recuerdo la dirección. — I don’t remember the address.
- ¿Recuerdas aquella película? — Do you remember that movie?
You can also use recordar que + clause:
- Recuerdo que cerré la puerta. — I remember that I locked the door.
- Recuerdo que vivíamos cerca de aquí. — I remember that we used to live near here.
Notice that there is no de after recordar.
Acordarse: Always Use “de”
Acordarse is a pronominal verb and is normally followed by de when you mention what someone remembers.
Structure
acordarse de + noun
- Me acuerdo de su nombre. — I remember her name.
- No me acuerdo de la dirección. — I don’t remember the address.
- ¿Te acuerdas de Pablo? — Do you remember Pablo?
Because acordarse is pronominal, the pronoun changes with the subject:
- me acuerdo — I remember
- te acuerdas — you remember
- se acuerda — he / she / you remember
- nos acordamos — we remember
- os acordáis — you remember
- se acuerdan — they / you remember
Recordar que vs Acordarse de que
Both verbs can also be followed by a clause.
With recordar, use:
recordar que + clause
- Recuerdo que mañana no trabajamos. — I remember that we don’t work tomorrow.
With acordarse, keep the preposition de:
acordarse de que + clause
- Me acuerdo de que mañana no trabajamos. — I remember that we don’t work tomorrow.
A common mistake is to remove de before que:
❌ Me acuerdo que mañana es festivo.
✅ Me acuerdo de que mañana es festivo.
Recordar vs Acordarse: Quick Comparison
| recordar | acordarse | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | to remember | to remember |
| With a noun | recordar algo | acordarse de algo |
| With que | recordar que… | acordarse de que… |
| Pronominal? | No | Yes |
| Example | Recuerdo tu nombre. | Me acuerdo de tu nombre. |
Which One Should I Use?
In many everyday situations, recordar and acordarse de are interchangeable in meaning:
- No recuerdo dónde vive.
- No me acuerdo de dónde vive.
Both mean:
I don’t remember where he/she lives.
For learners, the easiest rule to remember is:
recordar → no de
acordarse → de
So:
- Recuerdo la respuesta.
- Me acuerdo de la respuesta.
Both are correct.
Common Mistakes
❌ recordar de
Don’t add de after recordar:
❌ Recuerdo de su nombre.
✅ Recuerdo su nombre.
❌ acordarse without de
If you mention what you remember, don’t forget de:
❌ Me acuerdo su nombre.
✅ Me acuerdo de su nombre.
❌ acordarse que
Keep de even before que:
❌ Me acuerdo que mañana es festivo.
✅ Me acuerdo de que mañana es festivo.
Quick Rule
If you only remember one thing from this page, remember this:
recordar algo
acordarse de algo
For example:
Recuerdo tu nombre.
Me acuerdo de tu nombre.
Same idea, different grammar.