merken, merkte, gemerkt: to notice
bemerken, bemerkte, bemerkt: to notice
| Examples and Usage Notes | Mnemonics |
Examples and Usage Notes:
- merken vs bemerken
- bemerken can mean “to (make a) remark”
- “Sich etwas merken” means “to commit to memory”
- Merken & bemerken are close. Merken is closer to “realize/feel”; “bemerken” is closer to “perceive,” and can be used more flexibly with direct objects. Look at the examples below for more details!
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Ich habe nichts gemerkt. Ich habe nichts bemerkt. |
I didn’t notice anything. |
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Merkst du was/etwas? Du merkst aber auch alles. |
Do you notice anything? Wow, nothing gets by you. [In principle, bemerken works equally well in both expressions, but in practice, only merken is used.] |
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Ich habe dich nicht bemerkt. Ich habe dich nicht gemerkt. |
I didn’t notice you. [an example where bemerken makes sense with a direct object (dich) and merken does not] |
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Ich habe nicht bemerkt, dass du da warst. Ich habe nicht gemerkt, dass du da warst. |
I didn’t notice that you were there. [This says essentially the same thing as the previous example, but here both verbs work.] |
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Man konnte das Erdbeben kaum bemerken. Man konnte das Erdbeben kaum merken. |
One could hardly notice the earthquake. [another example where bemerken makes sense with a direct object (das Erdbeben) and merken does not] |
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Man konnte kaum bemerken, dass ein Erdbeben stattfand. Man konnte kaum merken, dass ein Erdbeben stattfand. |
One could hardly notice that an earthquake was taking [Again, this says essentially the same thing as the previous example, but here both verbs work.] |
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Man wusste, dass Neptun existieren musste, weil man
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One knew that Neptune had to exist, because one had [another example where bemerken makes sense with a direct object (Unregelmäßigkeiten in der Umlaufbahn von Uranus) and merken does not] |
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Man wusste, dass Neptun existieren musste, weil man bemerkt hatte, dass es Unregelmäßigkeiten in der Umlaufbahn von Man wusste, dass Neptun existieren musste, weil man gemerkt hatte, dass es Unregelmäßigkeiten in der Umlaufbahn von [Der deutsche Astronom Galle entdeckte Neptun 1846] |
One knew that Neptune had to exist, because one had [Again, this says essentially the same thing as the previous example, but here both verbs work.] |
- As in English the verb “remark” can mean “to notice” but also “to make a remark,” so in German the verb “bemerken” can also mean “to remark” or “to comment.” When used in this sense, it is often accompanied by a verb in subjunctive I to indicate that speech is being reported:
| “Das ist aber gefährlich”, bemerkte er skeptisch. | “But that’s dangerous,” he commented skeptically. |
| Freud bemerkte einmal, dass eine Zigarre manchmal nur eine Zigarre sei. | Freud once remarked that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. |
- “Sich etwas merken” means “to commit to memory”: Das muss ich mir merken; Ich habe mir die Hausnummer gemerkt
Mnemonics
- Notice the similarity between “merken” and the English verb “to remark,” which can mean “to notice,” and also between “merken” and the verb “to mark” as in “Mark my words,” which asks you to “notice” what the speaker is saying.
- Angela Merkel merkt alles 🙂
- “Merkst du, dass heute Markt [=market, market day] ist?”
- “Hast du bemerkt, dass da 100 Mark auf dem Boden [=on the floor] liegen?”
- “merkwürdig” = curious, strange (i.e. worth noticing); bemerkenswert=remarkable