记得 is a 离合词 (cleft word, a.k.a. separable word). Most, if not all, cleft words have their dictionary entries, however, grammatically whether they're words or phrases is still being debated by the professionals. No wonder there's a lot of confusion across the answers and comments.

There are different types of cleft words. 记得 is of type 'verb+result', where

Words with the same structure include 看见, 听懂, 叫醒, etc.

Words with the same structure AND the 'result' word is also 得: 认得, 晓得, etc.

As a result, 得 in 记得 has the same meaning as in 得到, although the syntactic roles are different (in 得到, 得 is the action verb and 到 is the resultative complement). You're right that this usage is not listed in the link you have in the question.

Being a 'verb+result' cleft word, 记 and 得 can be infix-ed by a resultative particle to affirm/negate the result or construct an interrogative pattern. I.e.

• verb+得+result: 看得见, 记得得 (the first 得 is the resultative particle, read with neutral tone)
• verb+不+result: 看不见, 记不得
• verb+不/没+verb+result: 看没看见, 记不记得

记得得 is grammatically correct but seldom used due to the pronunciation difficulty caused by the repeating 得.

Besides, these cleft words can apply the common 'word+不/没+word' pattern just like non-cleft verbs. The meaning is exactly the same as #3 above.

There is a common misunderstanding that 记不得 means 'I used to remember but now forgot'; 不记得 means 'I tried to remember but never succeeded'.

In fact, the two patterns ('verb+不+result' and '不/没+verb+result') mean exactly the same thing, which is focused on the result rather than implying anything about the action attempt. 看不见 and 没看见 both mean 'I don't see it'. 记不得 and 不记得 both mean 'I don't remember' and that's all.

The only real difference is in geographical popularity. People from Northern China are more accustomed to say 不记得, while people from Southern China are used to both.

记住 is also a 'verb+result' cleft word. 记得住 is 记住 infix-ed with affirmative particle 得 (pattern 'verb+得+result'). Similar examples include 看得见, 跑得快, etc. 记 and 得 happen to be neighbors in this phrase but it has nothing to do with the cleft word 记得.

记得 is a 离合词 (cleft word, a.k.a. separable word). Most, if not all, cleft words do appear in dictionary as a word, however in grammar, whether they're words or phrases is still being debated by the professionals. No wonder there's a lot of confusion across the answers and comments.

There are different types of cleft words. 记得 falls into the type 'verb+result', where

Words with the same structure include: 看见, 听懂, 叫醒, etc.

Words with the same structure AND the 'result' word is also '得' include: 认得, 晓得, etc.

As a result, 得 in 记得 has the same meaning as in 得到, which is 'to obtain', although the syntactic roles are very different (in 得到, '得' is the action verb and '到' is the resultative complement). You're right that this usage is not listed in the link you have in the question.

Since we've touched the subject of cleft words, let's explore more about them:

As a 'verb+result' cleft word, 记 and 得 can be infix-ed by a resultative particle to affirm/negate the result, or construct an interrogative pattern. Which means,

• verb+得+result = affirmative pattern: 看得见, 记得得 (the first 得 is the resultative particle and should be pronounced with neutral tone.)
• verb+不+result = negative pattern: 看不见, 记不得
• verb+不/没+verb+result = interrogative pattern: 看没看见, 记不记得

'记得得' is grammatical, but seldom used due to the pronunciation difficulty caused by the repetition of '得'.

Besides these patterns specific to cleft words, they can also apply the common verb pattern of 'word+不/没+word' for interrogative pattern. The meaning is exactly the same as #3 above.

There is a common confusion between them and some people misuse them as if 记不得 means 'I used to remember but now forgot'; 不记得 means 'I tried to remember but never succeeded'.

Generally, 'verb+不/没+result' means 'cannot do' and '不/没+verb+result' means 'do not do', for example,

• 看不见 = cannot see (maybe blocked by something)
• 没看见 = didn't see/haven't seen

However when it comes to 记得, although logically 记不得 means 'I don't have the ability to remember' and 不记得 means 'It's not in my memory', in practice they are both used for the same meaning of 'I don't remember' and are interchangeable. 记不得 is never used to describe someone's poor memorizing ability and you need some other expression for that.

Having said that, there is a difference in the usage, which is in geographical popularity. People from Northern China are more accustomed to say 不记得, while people from Southern China are okay to say both.

记住 is also a 'verb+result' cleft word. 记得住 is 记住 infix-ed with affirmative particle 得 (pattern 'verb+得+result' for affirmation). Similar examples include 看得见, 跑得快, etc. 记 and 得 happen to be neighbors in this phrase, but it has nothing to do with the cleft word 记得.

记得 as a whole:

First I take back my comment saying 记得 is one word, but I keep the part that it should be understood as a whole.

记得 is a 离合词 (cleft word, a.k.a. separable word). Most, if not all, cleft words have their dictionary entries, however, grammatically whether they're words or phrases is still being debated by the professionals. No wonder there's a lot of confusion across the answers and comments.

There are different types of cleft words. 记得 is of type 'verb+result', where

• 记 (to memorize; to remember) is the 'action verb'.
• 得 (to obtain; 'can remember' in this context) is the 'stative verb as resultative complement'.

Words with the same structure include 看见, 听懂, 叫醒, etc.

As a result, 得 in 记得 has the same meaning as in 得到, although the syntactic roles are different (in 得到, 得 is the action verb and 到 is the resultative complement). You're right that this usage is not listed in the link you have in the question.

记得得/记不得/记不记得/记得不记得:

Being a 'verb+result' cleft word, 记 and 得 can be infix-ed by a resultative particle to affirm/negate the result or construct an interrogative pattern. I.e.

• verb+得+result: 看得见, 记得得 (the first 得 is the resultative particle, read with neutral tone)
• verb+不+result: 看不见, 记不得
• verb+不/没+verb+result: 看没看见, 记不记得

记得得 is grammatically correct but seldom used due to the pronunciation difficulty caused by the repeating 得.

Besides, these cleft words can apply the common 'word+不/没+word' pattern just like non-cleft verbs. The meaning is exactly the same as #3 above.

• word+不/没+word: 看见没看见, 记得不记得

记不得 vs. 不记得:

There is a common misunderstanding that 记不得 means 'I used to remember but now forgot'; 不记得 means 'I tried to remember but never succeeded'.

In fact, the two patterns ('verb+不+result' and '不/没+verb+result') mean exactly the same thing, which is focused on the result rather than implying anything about the action attempt. 看不见 and 没看见 both mean 'I don't see it'. 记不得 and 不记得 both mean 'I don't remember' and that's all.

The only real difference is in geographical popularity. People from Northern China are more accustomed to say 不记得, while people from Southern China are used to both.

记得 as in 记得住:

记住 is also a 'verb+result' cleft word. 记得住 is 记住 infix-ed with affirmative particle 得 (pattern 'verb+得+result'). 记 and 得 happen to be neighbors in this phrase but it has nothing to do with the cleft word 记得.

记得 as a whole:

First I take back my comment saying 记得 is one word, but I keep the part that it should be understood as a whole.

记得 is a 离合词 (cleft word, a.k.a. separable word). Most, if not all, cleft words have their dictionary entries, however, grammatically whether they're words or phrases is still being debated by the professionals. No wonder there's a lot of confusion across the answers and comments.

There are different types of cleft words. 记得 is of type 'verb+result', where

• 记 (to memorize; to remember) is the 'action verb'.
• 得 (to obtain; 'can remember' in this context) is the 'stative verb as resultative complement'.

Words with the same structure include 看见, 听懂, 叫醒, etc.

Words with the same structure AND the 'result' word is also 得: 认得, 晓得, etc.

As a result, 得 in 记得 has the same meaning as in 得到, although the syntactic roles are different (in 得到, 得 is the action verb and 到 is the resultative complement). You're right that this usage is not listed in the link you have in the question.

记得得/记不得/记不记得/记得不记得:

Being a 'verb+result' cleft word, 记 and 得 can be infix-ed by a resultative particle to affirm/negate the result or construct an interrogative pattern. I.e.

• verb+得+result: 看得见, 记得得 (the first 得 is the resultative particle, read with neutral tone)
• verb+不+result: 看不见, 记不得
• verb+不/没+verb+result: 看没看见, 记不记得

记得得 is grammatically correct but seldom used due to the pronunciation difficulty caused by the repeating 得.

Besides, these cleft words can apply the common 'word+不/没+word' pattern just like non-cleft verbs. The meaning is exactly the same as #3 above.

• word+不/没+word: 看见没看见, 记得不记得

记不得 vs. 不记得:

There is a common misunderstanding that 记不得 means 'I used to remember but now forgot'; 不记得 means 'I tried to remember but never succeeded'.

In fact, the two patterns ('verb+不+result' and '不/没+verb+result') mean exactly the same thing, which is focused on the result rather than implying anything about the action attempt. 看不见 and 没看见 both mean 'I don't see it'. 记不得 and 不记得 both mean 'I don't remember' and that's all.

The only real difference is in geographical popularity. People from Northern China are more accustomed to say 不记得, while people from Southern China are used to both.

得 as in 记得住:

记住 is also a 'verb+result' cleft word. 记得住 is 记住 infix-ed with affirmative particle 得 (pattern 'verb+得+result'). Similar examples include 看得见, 跑得快, etc. 记 and 得 happen to be neighbors in this phrase but it has nothing to do with the cleft word 记得.