kujtesë

Kujtesë is an Albanian noun meaning memory or recollection. It denotes both the faculty to recall past experiences and the content stored in memory. The term covers individual memory and collective memory—the shared sense of the past within a family, community, or society. Kujtesë is derived from the verb kujtoj, “to remember,” and is widely used in Albanian-language discourse in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and the Albanian-speaking diaspora.

In everyday language, kujtesë appears in references to personal memories as well as to historical or cultural memory. In scholarly and public discourse, it is a central concept in memory studies, used to analyze how societies remember, forget, and reinterpret past events, and how memory shapes identity, politics, and intergenerational relationships.

Culturally, kujtesë plays a significant role in Albanian-speaking regions, where debates about the legacy of past regimes, wars, migrations, and political transitions frequently invoke collective memory. Public commemorations, museums, monuments, literature, and film engage with kujtesë to reflect on trauma, resilience, and belonging. The term thus functions as a linguistic lens for examining how past experiences are remembered, transmitted, and negotiated across generations.