Mnemonic Devices: Memory Tricks That Help You Remember
No, a mnemonic device isn't the latest gadget, but a cool trick that helps you remember important information. If you have trouble remembering things, mnemonics can help!
Quick Reference: Mnemonic Devices
- What it is: a memory trick, usually a rhyme, acronym, or catchy phrase, that helps you recall facts, lists, or numbers.
- Say it: the first M is silent, so “mnemonic” is three syllables, “ne-MON-ik.”
- Why it works: it encodes information the brain can hang onto, and it chunks long strings into smaller, memorable pieces.
- Famous examples: Thirty days hath September, Roy G. Biv, My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Potatoes, and FANBOYS.
- Make your own: a short rhyme or a first-letter acronym works for birthdays, chores, and grocery lists.
Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November…
If you have ever recited that childhood rhyme to remember which months have thirty days, you have already used a mnemonic device. Most of us learn a handful of these tricks before we ever hear the word for them, and we lean on them for the rest of our lives without a second thought. Here is a plain look at what a mnemonic device is, why it works, the famous ones worth knowing, and how to build your own.
What Is a Mnemonic Device?
No, it is not the latest gadget. A mnemonic device is a memory trick that helps us hold onto facts, a large number of facts, lists, or some other kind of bulk information. Basic mnemonic devices, or simply mnemonics, use words, sentences, or even images that our minds can tie to the information we would like to remember. Most mnemonics are rhymes, acronyms, or catchy phrases that are easier to recall than the information they stand for.
The word itself carries its meaning. It is derived from the Ancient Greek word mnemonikos, meaning “of memory,” or “relating to memory.” Put simply, a mnemonic is a handle you attach to a slippery fact so it does not slide out of reach when you need it.
How Do You Pronounce Mnemonic?
For a tool meant to make memory easier, the word itself is a tricky one. The first M is silent. “Mnemonic” is pronounced as three syllables, “ne-MON-ik,” with the weight on the middle syllable. Say it out loud a few times and it sticks, which is fitting for a word about remembering.
Why Do Mnemonics Work?
Researchers are still working out the full picture of why mnemonics work, but a couple of things are clear. First, they are a way to encode information, and encoding makes it easier for our brains to recall a fact later. That is especially true with mnemonics that rhyme. When we hear and memorize a rhyme, that is a form of acoustic encoding that helps us commit the words to memory through sound. The brain breaks the words down into phonemes. You may recognize the root phone, which also gives us phonics, and phonemes are how we decode spoken words in order to understand what they mean.
Columbus sailed the ocean blue
In fourteen hundred and ninety-two.
“Chunking” is the second reason mnemonics make it easier to recall information. Research shows that human short-term memory holds only a small number of items at once. In his famous 1956 paper “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two,” psychologist George A. Miller put that limit at roughly seven items, a finding you can still read in full through York University’s archive. Mnemonic chunks make it easier to hold information in that narrow window. Phone numbers and Social Security numbers are the everyday example: the digits are grouped into chunks that are easier to remember than one long string.
Types of Mnemonic Devices
Mnemonics come in a few recognizable shapes. Most of the tricks you already use fall into one of these families, and knowing the type makes it easier to build one of your own when you need it.
The method of loci, sometimes called a memory palace, is one of the oldest tricks of the lot, used by orators in the ancient world to hold a long speech in order. You walk a familiar path in your mind, the rooms of your house or the route to work, and leave one fact at each stop. When it is time to recall the list, you simply take the walk again.
Popular Mnemonic Devices
Rhymes
To remember how to spell words like “receive,” try this famous mnemonic:
I before E, except after C
Or when sounding like A
In neighbor and weigh.
Acronyms
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Potatoes.
This mnemonic helps you remember the planets in order from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, though astronomers are still arguing about Pluto’s planetary status. The newer version for the planets without Pluto is: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles. If the planets themselves are your interest, our look at the retrograde planets and what each one means is a good next stop.
Roy G. Biv
This acronym, shaped to look like a name, helps us remember the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
FANBOYS
For grammar gurus, this is a must-use acronym that helps us remember all seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Make Your Own Mnemonic Device
There are plenty of famous mnemonics out there to help us remember all kinds of things, but the best ones are often the ones you make yourself. Because a mnemonic you build fits your own life and your own way of thinking, it tends to stick better than a borrowed one. Making one is simple:
- Write down the list, name, or number you need to remember.
- Pull out the first letter of each item, or the key sound.
- Build those letters into a word, a silly sentence, or a short rhyme. The sillier, the better, since odd images stick.
- Say it out loud a few times so the sound settles in.
Make up a simple rhyme or a first-letter acronym to remember birthdays, tasks for work or school, grocery lists, and other bits of important information. The same trick even helps with dates on the calendar, from an anniversary to the next full Moon you want to catch. When the job is picking the right day for a chore or a plan rather than remembering it, our Best Days Calendar does that part for you. Once you get the hang of it, you will find yourself building little memory hooks for everything.
Mnemonic Devices: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a mnemonic device?
A mnemonic device is a memory trick that helps you recall facts, lists, or numbers. It uses words, sentences, or images your mind can tie to the information you want to remember. Most mnemonics are rhymes, acronyms, or catchy phrases that are easier to recall than the raw information they stand for.
How do you pronounce “mnemonic”?
The first M is silent. “Mnemonic” is pronounced as three syllables, “ne-MON-ik,” with the stress on the middle syllable. The word comes from the Ancient Greek mnemonikos, meaning “of memory.”
Why do mnemonics work?
Mnemonics work mainly through encoding and chunking. Rhymes use acoustic encoding, which helps you commit words to memory through sound. Chunking groups a long string into smaller pieces that fit inside short-term memory, which holds only a handful of items at a time. Together those two effects make a fact much easier to recall.
What are the most common types of mnemonic devices?
The common types are rhymes and songs, acronyms and expressions like Roy G. Biv, chunking for numbers, the method of loci or memory palace, and keyword or image associations. Most everyday memory tricks fall into one of these families.
Do mnemonic devices really improve memory?
For recalling specific lists, orders, and facts, they help a great deal, which is why students and speakers have used them for centuries. They are a tool for retrieval, not a cure for a poor night’s sleep or a substitute for understanding a subject. Pair a mnemonic with real practice and it earns its keep.
How do I make my own mnemonic device?
Write down what you need to remember, pull the first letter or key sound from each item, and build those into a word, a silly sentence, or a short rhyme. Say it out loud a few times so the sound settles in. A mnemonic you make yourself usually sticks better than a borrowed one because it fits your own way of thinking.
What is a famous example of a mnemonic device?
A few of the best known are “Thirty days hath September” for the length of the months, “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Potatoes” for the planets in order from the Sun, Roy G. Biv for the colors of the rainbow, and FANBOYS for the seven coordinating conjunctions. Do you use a mnemonic device to remember something? Share it with us in the comments below.
Amber Kanuckel
Amber Kanuckel is a freelance writer from rural Ohio who loves all things outdoors. She specializes in home, garden, environmental, and green living topics.
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I become E except after C or when sounding like A as in neighbor or weigh.
I realize I could tell real lies with my real eyes open.
TRIG FUNCTIONS: SIN, COS, TAN; SOH CAH TOA {SOME OLD HORSE CAUGHT ANOTHER HORSE TAKING OATS AWAY} SIN — OPPOSITE / HYPOTENUSE; COS — ADJACENT / HYPOTENUSE; TAN OPPOSITE / ADJACENT
How to remember small dressage ring markers….All King Edward’s Horses Can’t Make Big Fences
I use HOMES to remember the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior. lol. Works for me!
When I was a kid a teacher said “I before E except after C”. What I heard was “I before E accept after C”. See how that can be confusing to a child? Why not something like “I before E but not after C”?
Be My Little General Always. US Army ranks of general. (stars) Brigadier, Major, Lieutenant, General, General of the Armies
This one is grade school old. A Rat In Tom’s House Might Eat Tom’s Ice Cream: Arithmetic. lol
I hated math, (and still do) so am glad I never had an Aunt Sally!
Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
My uncle used this to teach me to spell. Mi crooked letter crooked I crooked letter crooked letter I, Mississippi.
You forgot the “hump-back” part! Lol
MI crooked letter crooked letter I crooked letter crooked letter I hump-back hump-back I =Mississippi
Sorry, I just HAD to say the whole thing! Lol Not Everyone around the world has heard that saying before.
Kind Pa Can Open Front Garage S(I can’t remember this one) my 10th grade science teacher taught it to us to remember Kind, Phyllum, Class, Origin, Family, Genus, and Species
Cheri, excellent!