If you ever find yourself caught trying to decide between saber vs conocer, this post will help.
Saber and conocer are commonly introduced together because they both translate to ‘to know’ in English. This can make them confusing.
That said, these two verbs aren’t as demanding as other Spanish challenges such as ser vs estar or por vs para. This is because saber and conocer have fairly well-defined roles in the Spanish language.
But, there is one situation where you can use them interchangeably. More on that later.
In this article, you’ll get a quick overview of when you should use saber and when you should use conocer. Then, we’ll take a look at the present and past conjugations for these verbs. Pay close attention to the conjugations of saber since they are quite irregular in the past simple tense.
Then, you’ll find an explanation of an important grammar rule to be aware of with conocer. And, of course, you’ll get a bunch of examples for each of the separate uses of saber and conocer.
So, with that said, let’s dive into the quick side-by-side comparison of these two important verbs.
Saber vs Conocer: A quick overview
As I mentioned earlier, ‘to know’ can translate to both saber and conocer. So, how do you know which verb to choose?
Well, it depends entirely on what it is that you ‘know’.
Here is a quick summary of how to decide between saber and conocer:
Saber: facts, information, how to do something.
Conocer: people, places, things.
So for example, if you ‘know’ a person (a friend or someone famous), you always have to use conocer.
If, on the other hand, you ‘know’ about something that someone did (such as a speech or an invention), you have to use saber since it is now a piece of information. A simple way to avoid confusion with saber and conocer is to change the way you think about the translation of these verbs. This means it helps to think about saber and conocer as follows:
English: To know
Español: Saber.
English: To meet, have been to, to be familiar with.
Español: Conocer.
So, a key question to ask yourself is: can you replace the word ‘know’ in an English sentence with ‘to meet’, ‘have been to’, or ‘to be familiar with’? If you can, you probably need to use conocer in Spanish.
Saber vs Conocer: Present conjugations
In the present tense, both saber and conocer are regular in all conjugations except for the first person.
Here are the conjugations of saber and conocer in the present tense:
| Person | Saber | Conocer |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | Sé | Conozco |
| Tú | Sabes | Conoces |
| Él / Ella | Sabe | Conoce |
| Nosotros | Sabemos | Conocemos |
| Vosotros | Sabéis | Conocéis |
| Ellos | Saben | Conocen |
Notice the irregular conjugations sé and conozco.
Saber vs Conocer: Past conjugations
In the pretérito indefinido (past simple tense), saber is very irregular.
Here are the conjugations of saber in the two past tenses:
| Saber | Pretérito | Imperfecto |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | Supe | Sabía |
| Tú | Supiste | Sabías |
| Él / Ella | Supo | Sabía |
| Nosotros | Supimos | Sabíamos |
| Vosotros | Supisteis | Sabíais |
| Ellos | Supieron | Sabían |
Take note of the prefix ‘sup’, this makes saber in the past simple one of the stranger verb conjugations in Spanish. I suggest practising it more than other conjugations to help it stick in your mind.
In contrast, and despite having an irregular first person present conjugation, conocer is completely regular in the past.
Here are the conjugations of conocer in the two past tenses:
| Conocer | Pretérito | Imperfecto |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | Conocí | Conocía |
| Tú | Conociste | Conocías |
| Él / Ella | Conoció | Conocía |
| Nosotros | Conocimos | Conocíamos |
| Vosotros | Conocisteis | Conocíais |
| Ellos | Conocieron | Conocían |
Conocer is definitely a simpler verb to conjugate when compared to saber. But, that doesn’t mean conocer is without its own challenges.
So, let’s look at one important grammar rule you need to keep in mind with conocer.
Conocer and the preposition ‘a’
As noted above, when you are using conocer, you will be talking about people, places, or things that you are familiar with. But, if you are referring specifically to people, you have to be careful.
Here is the main grammar rule with conocer you need to know:
If you are referring to people, you have to use the preposition ‘a’.
For example:
English: I’m familiar with your friend.
Español: Yo conozco a tu amigo.
If you are not talking about people, you have to drop the ‘a‘:
English: I’m familiar with your country.
Español: Yo conozco tu pais.
This use of ‘a‘ with conocer and people takes a little getting used to. This is the thing you probably need to practice the most with this post!
If you want to learn more about the preposition ‘a’ in general, check out this podcast episode.
Saber – Use 1 – For facts
When you ‘know’ about things such as scientific facts, events, or general trivia, then use saber as follows:
English: Do you know where Gael Garcia Bernal is from?
Español: ¿Sabes de dónde es Gael García Bernal?
English: Does anyone know how many people live in Spain?
Español: ¿Alguien sabe cuántas personas viven en España?
English: I didn’t know that there are 21 countries that speak Spanish.
Español: No sabía que hay 21 países en los que se habla español.
Saber – Use 2 – For information
If you have knowledge about any general information that may be useful such as where something is located, when a train is going to depart, or the status of a situation, you can also use saber:
English: Do you know what time the train departs?
Español: ¿Sabes a qué hora sale el tren?
English: Do you know where I can find this statue?
Español: ¿Sabes dónde puedo encontrar esta estatua?
English: Yes, I already know they are separated.
Español: Sí, ya sé que están separados.
Saber – Use 3 – How to do something
For the third use of saber, you can talk about your skills or specific areas of expertise.
The rule looks like this:
English: I know how to do…
Español: Yo sé… (+ verb in infinitive form or field of expertise)
You need to remember that for this use, saber, replaces all of ‘how to do’ in English. Moreover, a common error is to say:
Español: ‘yo sé como…‘ (I know ‘how’).
Here are some examples:
English: I know how to speak Spanish.
Español: Yo sé hablar español.
English: He doesn’t know how to sing.
Español: Él no sabe cantar.
English: I know maths.
Español: Yo sé matemáticas.
To reiterate, you may find it tempting to include como when using saber this way. I know have definitely made this mistake several times.
When you are practising, try to force yourself to quickly follow saber with an infinite verb without including como in between.
Like many things with learning Spanish, the key is to practice a concept many times to help it stick!
Conocer – Use 1 – People
As noted above, always remember to include the preposition ‘a‘ when using conocer with people.
English: I’m familiar your cousin. (I’ve met)
Español: Conozco a tu primo.
English: I have already met your wife.
Español: Ya he conocido a tu esposa.
English: She told me that she doesn’t know you. (Isn’t familiar with you)
Español: Ella me ha dicho que no te conoce.
Conocer – Use 2 – Places
Again, if you are familiar with places, you need to remember to drop the preposition ‘a‘.
English: I’m not familiar with Spain. (I haven’t been to)
Español: No conozco España.
English: I’m familiar with your city because I went there in 2010.
Español: Conozco tu ciudad porque fui allí en 2010.
English: He knows this place very well.
Español: Él conoce muy bien este lugar.
Conocer – Use 3 – Things
The last use of conocer is for describing your knowledge of things such as technology.
English: I’m not familiar with the latest iPhone.
Español: No conozco el último iPhone.
English: I’m well familiar with that camera, I used it on my last overseas trip.
Español: Conozco bien esa cámara, la usé en mi último viaje al extranjero.
English: I’m familiar with the technology but I haven’t tried it.
Español: Conozco la tecnología, pero no la he probado.
Conocer in reciprocal sentences
In Spanish, reciprocal verbs are used to describe two people doing the same action to each other. These verbs are constructed using reflexive pronouns.
Sentences with conocer in the reciprocal form are quite common since they refer to two people meeting each other. For example:
English: How did you meet each other?
Español: ¿Cómo os conocisteis?
English: When did we meet?
Español: ¿Cuándo nos conocimos?
English: They met each other in 1991 and have been in love ever since.
Español: Se conocieron en 1991 y están enamorados desde entonces.
Reciprocal verbs are often confused with reflexive verbs. Both come under the category of pronominal verbs. If you would like to read more about pronominal verbs, check out this post.
The overlap between saber and conocer
Up to this point, the distinction between saber and conocer should hopefully have been pretty clear.
There is, however, one area where you might notice overlap between these two verbs in Spanish.
You can see saber and conocer used interchangeably when talking about abstract ideas.
For example:
English: The scientists want to know the secrets of the universe.
Español: Los científicos quieren saber los secretos del universo.
English: The scientists want to know the secrets of the universe.
Español: Los científicos quieren conocer los secretos del universo.
There is a subtle difference in meaning between these two sentences in Spanish. But, in this context, if you were to translate the idea from English to Spanish it wouldn’t really matter whether you chose saber or conocer, the idea would be clear.
Your turn
How well do you know saber vs conocer? Hopefully, by now, lo conoces como la palma de la mano (you know it like the palm of your hand).
If you want to learn more, you can listen to the podcast episode on saber vs conocer here.
The key to any challenge with Spanish is to take what you have read and put it into practice. Try to use three examples from this post this week and include a sentence conocer and ‘a‘, a past simple conjugation with saber, and the third use of saber for describing something you know ‘how to do’.
How else can you use saber vs conocer in a Spanish sentence?
Wow, I just corresponded with a Spanish-speaking friend..via GoogleTranslate, haha. I asked her if she knew the place I was staying in Colombia. It is all in how you phrase it I guess. Translating, ‘Do you know where that is?’ came out as ‘Sabes en dónde está ?’ I realized I need to ask, “Do you know the place?”, which translated as ‘¿Conoce el lugar?’. I’ve found that one can’t ‘think’ like they do in their native language…and I’m trying to think in Spanish. Thank you for this lesson.
Thanks Dan. For sure, it is a big challenge in language learning—trying to drop the way you think about how to express ideas in your first language.
But, I also think it is an enjoyable and fun challenge because, at least for me, it is novel to think about things in a different way.
Yes ! Andrew you have hit the nail on the head..forget how to say things in your own language.i struggle with this redlication of pronoun thingy in spanish but then i think about a spanish person with fairly good english…
“ to Miguel i give to him all the money”
..and then i can hear how a spaniard constructs his own language
Yes, it’s true, it can help your Spanish to hear Spanish natives speaking English.
Thanks for the timely lesson Andrew…the explanation about the preposition ‘a’ was very useful.
An hombre in a lorry asked me for some directions to a finca in spanish and used ‘conoces’ so luckily I replied back with ‘conozco’ but made interested in the verb and how to use it in the future.
Nice work reversing the verb conjugation, this is a great way to practice!!
Hi, I’m trying to understand the nuances of these two verbs and maybe I’m making it more complicated that it has to be, or maybe I’m thinking about it in English instead of Spanish and that’s what is adding to my confusion. In English we might respond to knowing someone as “I know who he is, but I have never met him.” Would ‘know who he is’ (a fact) be saber? And ‘never have met him’ be conocer? Or would they both be conocer because it is a person? Thanks & I really love your mini lessons. I learn a lot from each one! Kim
Hola Kim, this is a great question, and it does get into the nuances. When you say “I know who he is” this is in the grey area. If you know someone then you can say “Lo conozco” (I know him). If you know that someone is famous for something you can say “Yo sé que es un cocinero famoso” (I know he’s a famous chef). And if you know of a famous person but you have never met them, then you would still use ‘conocer’. I hope that helps!
Could you say something like “Yo se quien es, pero nunca lo/la he conocido.” Sorry, I’m using a computer at work that isn’t set-up with an international keyboard.
Hola Toni, yes, that is a good example. In this sentence, you’ve said that you “know” who the person is because they are famous or they have a reputation but you have never met them.
Why is “a” used after jugar?
Hola Rebecca, verbs and prepositions are difficult to predict and they don’t always occur as we expect them to. “Jugar + a” is a good example of this. The key to learning unexpected preposition and verb combinations is to make a note of them and to practice them often.
Great video! Explained well and easy to understand.
Thanks for the comment James! 🙂
I think I accidentally used “conocer” instead of “saber’ in a recording I made. I said this:
“Si no hubiera un censo, no podríamos conocer esta información y nuestro gobierno no podría funcionar como una democracia representativa”.
Is there any way that conocer is not totally wrong in my sentence? I don’t know if I can edit the word out of the recording. Please let me know if it sounds totally wrong or not. Thanks.
Hola Kevin, in this context, the phrase “totally wrong” is subjective. It depends on what information you are referring to. If we look at a translation of this sentence into English: “If there were no census, we could not know this information and our government could not function as a representative democracy.” Even in English, the sentence is unclear and is missing a logical step or link for the information the government needs to know to function.
If you want to say:
We need to know how many people are living in this part of the country – Necesitamos saber cuántas personas viven en esta parte del país.
If you want to say:
We want to get to know the people living in this country – Queremos conocer a la gente que vive en este país.
It is unclear what information you are referring to that we need to “know” or “get to know” as the result of a census.
If you can’t re-record and edit only, you could remove “no podríamos conocer esta información y”. It makes sense to simply say “if there were no census, the government could not function as a representative democracy.” The sentence is more succinct and if necessary (or possible) you could then follow it with “porque…” to justify the statement.
Thanks for your reply.
Here’s the whole paragraph: “Entonces, el censo es muy importante. Es la forma en que sabemos dónde vive la mayoría de las personas y quién debe recibir la mayor cantidad de beneficios y representación en el gobierno. Si no hubiera un censo, no podríamos “conocer” (saber?) esta información y nuestro gobierno no podría funcionar como una democracia representativa”.
I think it should probably be “saber” and not “conocer.”
But since I can’t edit, does the use of conocer sound ridiculous?
Thank you.
Hola Kevin, since you can’t edit it, there is no point worrying about it. Time to move onto the next recording. Good luck!
Brilliant. Leche hecha. Vamos!
¡Gracias Miguelito! 🙂
De nada, y gracias a vos por tus muy útiles lecciones rápidas.
Excellent video, Andrew! I knew there were differences for the use of saber and conocer, but it has nevertheless been confusing. Your video and explanation make the differences and nuances clearer. Thanks!
Thanks for the great feedback Ron!
Andrew, Excellent video! Your explanations are very clear and fun. I will always remember ‘Conoces a Ted’ from the fun film clip and will never make a mistake of leaving out a personal a when referring to people. Your video was so well done that I don’t think I need to write notes, I just need a whole bunch of practice sentences. Thank you.
Thanks for the feedback, Pam! Haha, yes, when I was putting together the video I thought the “Conoces a Ted” was so much fun and such a great example. I think you are the first student to comment on it and so I’m really glad you appreciated it! 😊
Estaba pensando de la manera de traducir esta oración inglesa: I did not know these three words before. Me parece que es possible usar ambos saber y conocer, pero personalmente prefiero conocer. Entonces, la traducción podría ser: Luego no conocía estas tres palabras.
Además, supongo qué siempre hay que usar el verbo “saber” junto a “que”. Por ejemplo: No sabía que las cosas iban a cambiar.
Muy bien, ¡gracias por compartir Andrzej! 🙂
Hola Andrew, muchas gracias por la lección, como siempre, tu explicación es muy clara y muy interesante. Saludos Steve
¡Muchas gracias a ti Steve por tus comentarios muy amables! 🙂
Thank you very much for the detailed and interesting post. In the Hebrew language there is no problem distinguishing the meaning of these two verbs. The meaning is as in the Spanish language. Therefore, the speakers of the Hebrew language use these two verbs correctly.
Thank you
Thanks for sharing Miri! 🙂
Hola Andrew
Knowing French since school I’m familiar with the two terms for ‘know’ but it’s great to get some pointers on the ’grey’ areas
Gracias por tu ayuda
¡De nada! Thanks for the feedback Mark! 🙂