What’s the difference between souvenir and memory?

This week we are looking at two words which are sometimes confused by learners of English: souvenir and memory.

souvenir

function playAudio(url) { new Audio(url).play(); }

souvenir /suːvəˈnɪə/ is an object that you buy or keep to remind you of a holiday, place, or event.

He kept the spoon as a souvenir of his journey.

They bought some souvenirs from the shop at the airport.

memory

function playAudio(url) { new Audio(url).play(); }

Use memory rather than souvenir to talk about something that you remember.

One of my earliest memories is my first day at school.

She had no memory of what had happened.

Your memory is your ability to remember things.

He’s got a really good memory for names.

Meeting him as a child really stands out in my memory.


Find out more in our English Usage article.

This blogpost is based on Collins COBUILD English Usage, written for learners of English. For more examples of English usage points, please visit:  https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/english-usage.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.

Other Articles

Phrasal verbs: verb + adverb + preposition

Some phrasal verbs are a combination of the verb + adverb and verb + preposition phrasal verbs. All the parts of this type of phrasal verb come BEFORE the object. We are looking forward to our holiday. Don’t put up with it! You must look out for the warning signs. I’m so fed up with city life. Phrasal verbs with… Read More

Phrasal verbs: verb + preposition

Some verb + preposition phrasal verbs always have an object. This is because prepositions always have an object. He asked for his bill. She listened to him. They referred to our conversation. Some phrasal verbs with prepositions are: add to, agree with, approve of, ask for, believe in, care for, hope for, laugh at, look for, refer to,… Read More

Phrasal verbs: verb + adverb

Some verb + adverb phrasal verbs have no object, i.e. they are intransitive, for example, get up, go away, hold on: Mary went away. Helen sat down. The students came back. Others do require an object, i.e. they are transitive, for example, blow something up, close something down, pick someone up: We could make out a figure in the distance. Read More