Spanish Verbs - Saber And Conocer - Rocket Languages

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The Two Verbs of "Knowing"

Saber and Conocer are two verbs in Spanish that can be easily confused when studying them for the first time since they can both be translated as "to know"; knowing the difference between them will certainly help you to use them properly when you need to. You cannot expect to have a language that’s a literal one-on-one translation of another language. As a result, you find some Spanish words that seem to convey a million and one English meanings (such as the word llave, which can mean a key, a tap, or a wrench). Conversely, you are going to find many verbs in Spanish that have shades of meaning that don’t exist in English, such as ser and estar.

The verbs saber and conocer fall into the latter category. Both verbs mean “to know.” They are very, very useful in everyday life, but they are used in different contexts. If you understand which verb to use, you can also ask someone if he or she knows someone else, or even tell people, “I don’t know!”

Which verb you use will depend on what is being known in your sentence.

Saber is used in the context of knowing information or ideas.

e.g., Yo sé como cocinar. "I know how to cook."

Conocer is used in the context of knowing a person or a place.

e.g., ¿Conoces bien la ciudad? "Do (you) know the city well?"

Pronouncing Saber and Conocer

The present tense conjugations of the verbs can be seen in the following table. You will notice that both ‘yo’ forms are irregular in the present.

SABER "to know"

Important! Perfect Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Our voice recognition tool, Rocket Record, is used extensively throughout Rocket Spanish to get you speaking the right way. Listen to the tutor audio then record yourself saying the phrase. Use a headset mic in a quiet environment for best results. Problems? Click here!yo séI know0%tú sabesyou know0%usted sabeyou know0%él sabehe knows0%ella sabeshe knows0%nosotros sabemoswe know0%nosotras sabemoswe know0%vosotros sabéisyou know0%vosotras sabéisyou know0%ustedes sabenyou know0%ellos sabenthey know0%ellas sabenthey know0%

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You'll put a lot of time into learning Spanish, so we make sure you can remember it all by including fun and engaging activities at the bottom of every lesson.

CONOCER "to know"

yo conozcoI know0%tú conocesyou know0%usted conoceyou know0%él conocehe knows0%ella conoceshe knows0%nosotros conocemoswe know0%nosotras conocemoswe know0%vosotros conocéisyou know0%vosotras conocéisyou know0%ustedes conocenyou know0%ellos conocenthey know0%ellas conocenthey know0%

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SABER: To Know Information or How to Do Something

Saber is used when the subject knows a piece of information or how to do a specific task. It can be translated as “to know” as well as “to know how.”

Por ejemplo:

¿Sabes tú leer música?Do you know how to read music?0%Yo sé escribir en español.I know how to write in Spanish.0%Ellos saben jugar a las cartas.They know how to play cards.0%¡No sé!I don't know!0%

CONOCER: To Know a Person, Place, or Thing

Conocer is used when the subject knows a particular person or place, as in, “Do you know where to go?” or “Do you know Jamie?”

It can also be used in the context of knowing a particular thing, such as, “I know this computer. I used to work on it before I switched desks,” or “I know that outfit! I almost bought it last week.”

Por ejemplo:

Ellos conocen el sitio donde van a tener el concierto.They know the site where they're going to have the concert.0%Conozco este modelo, como casi lo compré anteriormente.(I) know this model, as I almost bought it previously.0%No conozco al abuelo de Estefanía.(I) don't know Estefanía's grandfather.0%

Notice that in the third example, the direct object is a person, which means that you should add the word a before el abuelo. Remember that a + el = al.

Knowing Places

The word conocer can be difficult to translate when you’re talking about places. For example, if someone asks you…

¿Conoces España?

…they usually want to know if you’ve been to Spain. If, on the other hand, they ask:

¿Conoces España bien?

…they want to know whether you are familiar with the country, i.e., whether you know it well.

Por ejemplo:

¿Conoces mi casa?Do (you) know my house?0%¿Conoces Nueva York? ¡Que chévere!Do (you) know New York? How cool!0%

Check out more Spanish Verbs for useful info!

• Spanish Verbs Decir & Dar
• Spanish Verbs Pedir and Preguntar
• Spanish Verbs in the Present Tense and Conjugations

See you soon! ¡Hasta pronto!

Mauricio Evlampieff: Rocket Spanish

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Reinforce your Spanish learning with activities that test your recall, listening and speaking skills!ActivitiesFlashcardsReinforce your memory using Flashcards27 leftListeningListen to the phrase, then record yourself saying the phrase27 leftWritingListen to the phrase, then type what you heard27 leftSpeakingRecord yourself saying the phrase out loud27 left

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