acordarse (de)
verbCEFR B2
What does “acordarse (de)” mean in English?
to remember, to recall
to remember, to recall (acordarse de algo — reflexive; me acuerdo de que + indicative)
Example sentences
No me acuerdo de haber visto ese documento. Estoy segura de que no llegó a mis manos.
I don't remember having seen that document. I'm certain it never reached me.
¿Te acuerdas de cuando vivíamos en aquella ciudad y todos nos conocíamos?
Do you remember when we used to live in that city and everyone knew each other?
Me acuerdo perfectamente de que nos dijo que volvería antes del mediodía.
I remember perfectly that he told us he would be back before midday.
How to use it
Acordarse de means 'to remember' — reflexive, always with the preposition de. Patterns: acordarse de algo, acordarse de que + indicative, acordarse de + infinitive (same subject). Colloquial and neutral register — slightly more informal than recordar in many contexts. Contrast: recordar is slightly more formal and can appear in more written contexts; acordarse de is very common in spoken Spanish. The negative no me acuerdo de is extremely common as a conversational response for 'I don't remember'.
Common mistake
Acordarse de always requires de — *'me acuerdo que' is common in informal speech but non-standard. In formal writing, recordar que is preferred over acordarse de que. Also: the polarity of negation matters for nuance — 'no me acuerdo' (I don't remember) vs. 'me acuerdo de no haberlo dicho' (I remember not having said it) — the second embeds a negative inside the memory clause, a different meaning.