Saber vs conocer: two verbs for one English word
Saber is for facts, information and how to do something: sé la respuesta, sé nadar. Conocer is for being acquainted with a person, a place or a work: conozco a Juan, conozco Lima. In the pretérito, supe means "found out" and conocí means "met".
Draft copy. Every claim needs a native-speaker check before publishing — the byline is what makes this citable, so it has to be earned.
The forms
Both are irregular in yo only.
| saber | conocer | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | sé | conozco |
| tú | sabes | conoces |
| usted / él / ella | sabe | conoce |
| nosotros | sabemos | conocemos |
| ustedes / ellos | saben | conocen |
Sé carries an accent to separate it from se, the pronoun. And conozco has that -zc-, which shows up in a whole family of -cer verbs: parecer → parezco, traducir → traduzco.
The split
Saber — facts, information, and skills.
- Sé la respuesta.
- No sé. — the most useful two words on this page.
- ¿Sabes dónde está el mercado?
- Sé nadar. — saber + infinitive is “know how to”. No cómo needed: sé nadar, not sé cómo nadar.
Conocer — being acquainted with a person, a place, or a work.
- Conozco a Juan. — people take a, always.
- Conozco Lima. — I know Lima, I’ve been there.
- ¿Conoces esa canción?
- No conozco Cusco. — I’ve never been.
That last one is worth its own note: conozco about a place means I have been there. “Do you know Peru?” asked in Spanish is usually asking whether you have visited.
The overlap, and how to settle it
Both can precede a noun, and the meaning differs:
- Sé su nombre. — I know what she’s called. A fact.
- La conozco. — I know her. A person.
- Sé la ciudad. is wrong; conozco la ciudad is right.
The test: could you write it down? A fact you could write down is saber. A familiarity you could only have from experience is conocer.
In the past they change meaning
Both belong to the group of verbs whose pretérito means something different from their imperfecto — covered in pretérito vs imperfecto.
| pretérito | imperfecto | |
|---|---|---|
| saber | supe — I found out | sabía — I knew |
| conocer | conocí — I met | conocía — I knew, was familiar with |
- Ayer supe que se casó. — I found out yesterday.
- Ya sabía. — I already knew.
- Conocí a su mamá anoche. — I met her last night.
- No conocía ese restaurante. — I didn’t know that restaurant.
Conocí a… is how you say you met someone, and encontré a… is how you say you ran into someone you already knew. Different verbs for different events.
Related pairs worth knowing
Spanish splits several things English lumps together, and having them in one place helps.
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| to be | ser / estar |
| to know | saber / conocer |
| to ask | pedir (for a thing) / preguntar (a question) |
| to take | tomar (transport, drink) / llevar (carry) / sacar (take out) |
| to leave | salir (go out) / dejar (leave behind) / irse (depart) |
Pedir and preguntar is the one that catches people next: pido un café but pregunto la hora.
In Peru
¿Sabe dónde…? is the polite way to ask directions, softer than ¿dónde está…? because you are asking whether they know rather than demanding the answer. See Tú or usted in Peru.
No sabía as an apology — “I didn’t know” — with the imperfecto, because it is a state rather than a moment.
¿Conoces? about a restaurant or a district means “have you been”, and the expected answer is a recommendation.
Practise
- ___ (yo) que vive en Lima.
- ___ (yo) a su hermano.
- ¿___ (tú) nadar?
- Anoche ___ (yo, conocer) a su mamá.
- Ayer ___ (yo, saber) que se mudó.
- No ___ (yo) Cusco. — never been
→ 1 Sé · 2 Conozco · 3 Sabes · 4 conocí · 5 supe · 6 conozco.
Next
→ ¿No? ¿Cierto? ¿Ya? — Peruvian question tags
Topics The presentThe past
Saber or conocer?
Facts and skills against people and places — and what each verb means once you put it in the pretérito.
-
1*___ (yo) nadar.* — I know how to swim.
Answer
Sé — *Saber* + infinitive is “know how to”, and no *cómo* is needed — *sé nadar*, not *sé cómo nadar*. The yo form is *sé*, with the accent.
-
2*___ (yo) a su hermano.* — I know her brother.
Answer
Conozco — People are *conocer*, and they take *a*: *conozco a Juan*. The yo form has that *-zc-*, the same pattern as *parezco* and *traduzco*.
-
3*No ___ Cusco* — you have never been.
Answer
conozco — *Conozco* about a place means you have been there, so *no conozco Cusco* is how you say you have never visited.
-
4“I know what she's called.”
Answer
Sé su nombre. — A name is a fact you could write down, so *saber*. *La conozco* is a different claim — that you know the person.
-
5*Anoche ___ a su mamá.* — I met her mother last night.
Answer
conocí — In the pretérito *conocer* means “met”. *Conocía* is the imperfecto and means you were already familiar with her, which is the opposite event.
-
6*Ayer ___ que se mudó.* — I found out yesterday that she moved.
Answer
supe — *Supe* is the moment of finding out; *sabía* is the ongoing state of already knowing. Both translate as “knew”, which is why they get swapped.
-
7You want a coffee. Which verb asks for it?
Answer
Pido un café. — *Pedir* asks for a thing, *preguntar* asks a question — *pregunto la hora*. Another pair Spanish splits where English says only “ask”.