Saber vs conocer
The short answer
Saber is for facts, information and skills: things you could state or do. Conocer is for familiarity with people, places and works, and it always needs an object. If what follows is que, si, dónde, cómo or an infinitive, the verb is saber every time.
At a glance
Saber or Conocer?
| Compare | SaberFacts, clauses and skills. | ConocerFamiliarity with a person, place or thing. |
|---|---|---|
| What can follow | que, si, dónde, cómo, an infinitive | A noun, and only a noun |
| People | Only sé quién es | Conozco a María: with personal a |
| Places | Sé dónde está | Conozco Madrid |
| Skills | Sé nadar, sé conducir | Not used |
| Can it stand alone? | Yes: no sé. | No: needs an object |
| In the preterite | Supe: I found out | Conocí: I met |
How to choose
Ask these, in order
- 1
Is the next word que, si, dónde, cuándo, por qué or cómo?
Saber. Conocer cannot take a clause at all.
Sé que la tienda cierra a las siete.
I know the shop closes at seven.
- 2
Is an infinitive coming next?
Saber. This is how Spanish says know how to, with no extra word for how.
Sabe conducir desde los dieciocho.
She’s known how to drive since she was eighteen.
- 3
Is it a person, a city, a book or a film?
Conocer, and a person takes the personal a.
¿Conoces a su hermano?
Do you know his brother?
- 4
Could you say it aloud as a piece of information?
Saber, even when a noun follows.
Me sé el número de memoria.
I know the number by heart.
NBCompare conozco el número, which suggests recognising it rather than reciting it.
Side by side
Each one, in full
When to use saber
Facts, clauses and skills.
Saber handles information. Anything you could state, answer or recite belongs to it, which is why it takes clauses: que, si, dónde, cómo, and why it is the only one of the two that can stand alone as a complete answer: no sé.
It also covers learned skills, with the infinitive attached directly and no word for how. Sé cocinar, sabe tocar el piano. Adding cómo is a direct translation from English that no Spanish speaker would produce.
¿Sabes si viene esta noche?
Do you know whether he’s coming tonight?
No lo sé todavía.
I don’t know yet.
NBSpanish adds lo where English says nothing.
Sabe hablar cuatro idiomas.
She can speak four languages.
When to use conocer
Familiarity with a person, place or thing.
Conocer is acquaintance built by exposure: people, cities, neighbourhoods, restaurants, books, songs. It always takes a direct object, so it cannot end a sentence, and with a person it takes the personal a.
It also covers experience-based familiarity with a subject. Conoce bien el mercado inmobiliario means he has worked in it, in a way sabe el mercado would not: that would suggest he can recite it.
Conozco un sitio muy bueno cerca de aquí.
I know a really good place near here.
¿Os conocéis?
Do you two know each other?
Conoce muy bien la ciudad.
She knows the city really well.
Mistakes to avoid
What learners actually get wrong
Conozco que está enfermo.
Sé que está enfermo.
Conocer cannot take a clause. The moment que, si or dónde appears, the verb has to be saber. This is the single most reliable signal of the pair.
Sé Madrid muy bien.
Conozco Madrid muy bien.
A place you have been to is familiarity, so conocer. Sé dónde está Madrid is fine, because that turns it into information, and it now has a clause, which confirms the switch.
Sé cómo nadar.
Sé nadar.
Spanish puts the infinitive straight after saber. Adding cómo is a word-for-word translation of know how to and marks the speaker as an English learner immediately.
Conozco María desde hace años.
Conozco a María desde hace años.
A specific person as a direct object takes the personal a. It is the one thing this pair does that the French savoir/connaître split does not, so it catches learners coming from French.
Questions
Asked and answered
- Do they change meaning in the preterite?
- Yes, and it is the same shift French makes. Supe means found out rather than knew: cuando vi su cara, lo supe. Conocí means met for the first time: conocí a mi mujer en Sevilla. In the imperfect both keep their ordinary meanings.
- Which one do I use for a language?
- Both work and say different things. Conozco el italiano claims some familiarity; sé hablar italiano claims you can speak it. In practice Spanish speakers usually sidestep the choice entirely and say hablo italiano.
- Is this identical to French savoir and connaître?
- Almost exactly, and if you have one the other comes nearly free. The one difference worth flagging is the personal a, conozco a María, which French does not have. Everything else, including the preterite shift, maps across directly.