Level 5 · Lesson 7

我记住了
I've got it by heart

我记住了。站住！这条路变成大路了。那个我没记住。

住 fixes a result in place, 成 turns one thing into another — and a result complement is negated with 没.

听 · Listen

我家的地址
 李明 —  安娜，我家的地址你记住了吗？ 
Anna, have you memorised my address?  
 安娜 —  记住了。中山路二十六号。 
I have. Twenty-six Zhongshan Road.  
 李明 —  我的电话号码呢？ 
And my phone number?  
 安娜 —  那个我没记住。请你再说一次。 
That one I didn't get. Say it again, please.  
 李明 —  好，我再说一次，你记住。 
OK, I'll say it once more — hold on to it.  
 安娜 —  这次我记住了。……李明，站住！有车！ 
This time I've got it. … Li Ming, stop! There's a car!  
 李明 —  谢谢！车停了。你看，这条路以前很小，现在变成大路了。 
Thanks! The car has stopped. Look — this road used to be tiny, and now it's turned into a main road.  
 安娜 —  对，变化很大。 
True, it's changed a lot.  

讲解 · Explanation

我记住了。站住！

住 as a result means held fast, fixed, not going anywhere. 记 is the act of committing something to memory; 记住 says the memory stuck. 站 is standing; 站住 is stopping dead where you stand, and it is what you shout at someone who is walking into a car. The same 住 gives 拿住 (hold on to it) and 停住 (come to a dead stop). Keep it apart from the ordinary verb 住 zhù 'to live somewhere': 我住在北京.

这条路变成大路了。

成 as a result means turned into, ended up as. 变 alone is just 'change'; 变成 tells you what it changed into, and the new thing follows 成 immediately with nothing in between: 变成大路, 变成老师. You will meet the same 成 on other verbs later — anything that ends up as something else takes it.

那个我没记住。

Here is the rule that matters most in this lesson. To say a result did NOT happen, use 没, never 不: 我没记住, 我没听懂, 衣服没洗干净. The reason is simple — you are denying that the result was reached, and 没 is the negative of things reaching completion. 不 would be about habit or willingness, which is not the point. And 没 pushes the 了 out: 我记住了 becomes 我没记住.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
住	to live, stay; (as a result) firmly, fast	我住在北京 / 记住, 站住
记住	to memorise, fix in mind	negative: 没记住
成	(as a result) into, so as to become	变成, 写成
变成	to turn into, become	水变成冰了
停	to stop, halt	车停了 / 停住

练习 · Practice

这个地址我 ______ 记住。 Say that you failed to memorise it.

这条路现在变 ______ 大路了。 Which result means 'turned into'?

有车！______！别走！ Shout at your friend to stop where they are.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'I didn't memorise his phone number.'

住、记住、成、变成、停 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

老师的话我记住了。那个电话号码我没记住。这条路变成大路了。

Say three sentences aloud. One thing you have got by heart: …我记住了. One thing you have not — and listen for the 没, not 不: …我没记住. And one thing near you that has turned into something else, with 变成: 这条路变成大路了, 我的小妹妹变成大学生了. Then shout 站住！once, the way you would to stop a friend at the kerb.