{"id":8789,"date":"2020-05-20T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/?p=8789"},"modified":"2022-08-23T21:37:46","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T05:37:46","slug":"saber-vs-conocer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/saber-vs-conocer\/","title":{"rendered":"“To Know” in Spanish: Saber vs. Conocer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you know what saber<\/em> means? What about conocer<\/em>? The funny thing about saber<\/em> and conocer<\/em> is that they can both be translated as \u2018to know.\u2019 But they are completely separate verbs.<\/p>\n

The difference is that saber<\/em> is used for talking about knowing facts, information, or how to do something, while conocer<\/em> is used for talking about knowing people, places, or things. Let’s look into the details and examples in this article. \"Saber<\/span><\/p>\n

Saber<\/h2>\n

\"saber<\/span><\/p>\n

Image Via<\/p>\n

Saber<\/em> refers to having knowledge of something, like a piece of information. Weirdly, it also means \u2018to taste\u2019! Anyway, this is how it\u2019s conjugated in the present tense:<\/p>\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n\n\n
s\u00e9<\/em><\/td>\nsabemos<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sabes<\/em><\/td>\nsab\u00e9is<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sabe<\/em><\/td>\nsaben<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Here are some examples of how you can use it:<\/p>\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
S\u00e9 que eres buena persona.<\/em><\/td>\nI know that you\u2019re a good person.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00bfSabes el nombre de esta canci\u00f3n?<\/em><\/td>\nDo you know the name of this song?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vera no sabe que estamos planeando su fiesta.<\/em><\/td>\nVera doesn\u2019t know that we\u2019re planning her party.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No mientas, Santiago. Sabemos c\u00f3mo tratas a nuestra amiga.<\/em><\/td>\nDon\u2019t lie, Santiago. We know how you treat our friend.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00bfSab\u00e9is los verbos irregulares?<\/em><\/td>\nDo you (plural) know the irregular verbs (off by heart)?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ustedes saben la letra, \u00bfverdad?<\/em><\/td>\nYou (formal plural) know the lyrics (by heart), right?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In the preterite tense, saber<\/em> actually has a slightly different meaning. It refers to discovering or finding something out.<\/p>\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n\n
Ayer supe que Francesca me ha puesto los cuernos.<\/em><\/td>\nYesterday I learnt\/found out that Francesca has cheated on me.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Andr\u00e9s se enfad\u00f3 cuando supo la verdad.<\/em><\/td>\nAndr\u00e9s got angry when he discovered the truth.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Bonus tip: to sound like a native, know that there are some situations where we add the word lo before saber<\/em>. It means something along the lines of \u2018it.\u2019<\/p>\n

This is used when we want to say \u2018I know!\u2019 or \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019  Sometimes we even add ya<\/em> at the beginning, which adds a meaning of \u2018already.\u2019<\/p>\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\u2014Tienes que limpiar la casa.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014(Ya) lo s\u00e9.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u201cYou have to clean the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI (already) know that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\u2014\u00bfQu\u00e9 hora es?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014No lo s\u00e9.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u201cWhat time is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know.”<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\u2014Chicas, mirad mi anillo. \u00a1Estoy comprometida!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a1Ya lo sabemos! No hablas de ninguna otra cosa.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u201cGirls, look at my ring. I\u2019m engaged!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know already! You don\u2019t talk about anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\u2014\u00bfY ahora qu\u00e9 hacemos?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a1No lo s\u00e9!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u201cNow what do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Another interesting thing is when saber<\/em> is used to mean \u2018to be able to,\u2019 i.e. knowing<\/strong> how to do something. Don\u2019t confuse it with poder<\/em>, which is also translated as \u2018to be able to\u2019 but is about having the means and opportunity to do something, rather than having acquired a skill.<\/p>\n

You can read more on saber vs poder <\/em>here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n
Mi hermano y yo sabemos nadar bien porque crecimos cerca de la playa.<\/em><\/td>\nMy brother and I can swim well (we know how to) because we grew up near the beach.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

When you use \u2018saber<\/em>\u2019 in this way, don\u2019t be tempted to put in the word \u2018como<\/em>\u2019 (\u2018how\u2019) like we would in English! Just conjugate \u2018saber<\/em>\u2019 and then put the infinitive right next to it.<\/p>\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n
Graham sabe como<\/span> cocinar.<\/em><\/td>\nGraham knows how to<\/strong> cook.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

To sum up saber<\/em>:<\/h4>\n