()()ける

やきつける
verb (ichidan, transitive)
to burn in; to sear into memory; to imprint
他動詞 transitiveaction
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present()()ける()()けない
Present polite()()けます()()けません
Past()()けた()()けなかった
Past polite()()けました()()けませんでした
て form()()けて()()けなくて
ている present()()けている()()けていない
ている polite()()けています()()けていません
ている past()()けていた()()けていなかった
ている past polite()()けていました()()けていませんでした
Conditional ば()()ければ()()けなければ
Conditional たら()()けたら()()けなかったら
Volitional()()けよう
Volitional polite()()けましょう
Potential()()けられる()()けられない
Passive()()けられる()()けられない
Causative()()けさせる()()けさせない
Imperative()()けろ()()けるな
1. to burn in; to brand
To burn an image or mark onto something.
(てつ)(しるし)()()ける。
To brand a mark onto iron.
(うし)焼印(やきいん)()()ける。
To brand cattle with a branding iron.
I burned a pattern into a wooden board.
2. to sear into memory; to imprint
To make a strong impression that stays in one's mind.

A compound verb: () (to burn) + ()ける (to attach). Literally to fix an image or mark onto a surface by burning it there; sense 2 carries that image over to memory.

Transitivity

SENSE 2 (memory):
In the figurative sense the speaker deliberately fixes something in mind, so the verb usually appears with volitional endings — ()()たい, ()()ておく. The involuntary counterpart ("it stuck with me whether I wanted it to or not") is the intransitive ()().

ASPECT (ている):
()()いる describes the act in progress. For the resulting state — the image is already fixed there — Japanese uses the intransitive ()()いている, which is why that form is far more common than the transitive one in everyday speech.