How do you say, "I will remember you", or "I will never forget you," in Latin?

Question

I'm trying to write a letter to a friend in Latin, but I do not trust google translate. Help?

The common words for remembering and forgetting are actually quite weird in Latin, so the grammar here won't be straightforward: I wouldn't trust Google Translate at all on this. — Draconis, Jun 22 '17 at 00:11

score 12 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 18 '20 at 08:26

I will not/never forget you = nōn/numquam tuī oblīviscar

(The marks above the vowels are optional; they mark a pronunciation difference that disappeared in later Latin.)

"I" is usually omitted in Latin, unless you want your identity to be very emphatic. The verb form makes it unambiguous without an extra word.
nōn is "not", plain and simple.
numquam is "never". Either one works here.
tuī is the genitive singular of tu, "you". (This is a weird verb that takes the genitive when referring to people.)
oblīviscar is the first singular future deponent indicative of oblīviscor, "to forget about". (The r at the end looks passive, but this verb uses passive forms with an active meaning.)

semper is "always".
tuī, as above, because this is another of those rare verbs which take the genitive.
meminerō is, weirdly enough, in the future perfect tense: the verb meminī "to remember" doesn't have a normal future tense (or a present tense, for that matter), so the future perfect is used in its place.

brianpck · Answer 2 · 2017-06-22T13:17:18.897

12

I find memor to be rather evocative, so here's another straightforward translation:

Semper memor ero tui.

Rough translation:

I will always be mindful of you.

"Mindful" is a decent stand-in, though as far as I'm aware memor doesn't have the additional "watchful" meaning.

edited Jun 22 '17 at 13:17

answered Jun 22 '17 at 02:09

brianpck

3

(You might add the literal translation, if you can come up with a good English adjective for "memor".) – Draconis Jun 22 '17 at 02:28