Support the project

A1 · Updated 

Saber vs conocer in Spanish

English has one verb to know, Spanish has two. Saber is for facts and skills. Conocer is for people, places and things you have met or been to. One question settles almost every case: is it something you could shake hands with or visit?

The short answer

Use saber for information and for knowing how to do something: sé su número, sé nadar. Use conocer for people, places and things you are familiar with: conozco a Ana, conozco Roma. Conocer a person needs the personal a. In the past, conocí means I met.

How to remember it

Facts and skills are saber, people and places are conocer

A factsaber + que, si, dónde, cuándo...Sé dónde vive
A skillsaber + infinitiveSé cocinar
A personconocer aConozco a tu madre
A placeconocer, I have been thereConozco Sevilla
First meetingconocer in the preteriteLa conocí en 2020

The forms

Both verbs in the present

personsaberconocer
yoséconozco
túsabesconoces
él, ella, ustedsabeconoce
nosotrossabemosconocemos
vosotrossabéisconocéis
ellos, ustedessabenconocen

16 sentences that show the difference

Everyday Spanish, the kind you would actually say. The label under each one says which part of the rule it shows.

Where English gets in the way

English uses know for everything: a fact, a person, a city. Spanish splits it in two, roughly like know that and be acquainted with. English also uses can for skills, I can swim, where Spanish uses saber, sé nadar, because it is something you know how to do.

The mistake to avoid

Sé a María and conozco dónde vive. A person is always conocer, and anything introduced by dónde, qué, si or que is always saber: conozco a María, sé dónde vive.

The cases that break the rule

Sé nadar

For skills Spanish uses saber, not poder: sé nadar is I can swim, I know how. Puedo nadar means I am able to right now, the water is not too cold.

Conozco a Ana

A person after conocer takes the personal a: conozco a Ana. A place does not: conozco Madrid.

Conocí

In the preterite conocer means met for the first time: conocí a mi mujer en Lisboa. Supe means found out: lo supe por la radio.

Conozco el tema

Conocer also means to be familiar with a subject or a work: conozco su música. Saber would be knowing specific facts about it.

Sabe a

Saber a means to taste of: sabe a fresa. ¿A qué sabe? is what does it taste like?

Sé de un sitio

Saber de means to know of or about: sé de un bar abierto, I know of a bar that is open. Conozco un bar would mean you have been.

Saber vs conocer exercises

8 sentences to fill in. Type your answer and check it, or read them straight through with the answers showing. Accents count here, the way they count in the language.

  1. ¿___ dónde está el baño? (tú)

    Do you know where the toilet is?

    Sabes · A piece of information introduced by dónde, so saber.

  2. No ___ a nadie en esta fiesta. (yo)

    I do not know anyone at this party.

    conozco · People, so conocer, with a.

  3. Mi hijo ya ___ leer.

    My son can already read.

    sabe · A skill: saber + infinitive.

  4. ¿___ México? (vosotros)

    Have you been to Mexico?

    Conocéis · A place you have been, so conocer.

  5. No ___ si tengo tiempo. (yo)

    I do not know if I have time.

    sé · Saber si.

  6. Conozco ___ tu padre.

    I know your father.

    a · Conocer a person takes the personal a.

  7. Nos ___ en un tren hace diez años.

    We met on a train ten years ago.

    conocimos · Conocer in the preterite means to meet for the first time.

  8. Esta sopa ___ a ajo.

    This soup tastes of garlic.

    sabe · Saber a, to taste of.

More exercises, from Don Quixote

8 more, these ones straight out of the course: the inn, the windmills, Rocinante and the road. Same rule, older Spanish.

  1. Sancho no ___ leer ni escribir.

    Sancho cannot read or write.

    sabe · A skill, saber + infinitive.

  2. Don Quijote no ___ a Dulcinea.

    Don Quixote does not know Dulcinea.

    conoce · A person, so conocer a.

  3. El ventero ___ que don Quijote está loco.

    The innkeeper knows that Don Quixote is mad.

    sabe · Saber que, a fact.

  4. Sancho ___ bien los caminos de la Mancha.

    Sancho knows the roads of La Mancha well.

    conoce · Familiar with places, conocer.

  5. ¿Vuestra merced ___ quién es ese caballero?

    Does your grace know who that knight is?

    sabe · Introduced by quién, so saber.

  6. Don Quijote ___ todos los libros de caballerías.

    Don Quixote knows every book of chivalry.

    conoce · Familiar with works, conocer.

  7. Yo no ___ nadar, señor. (saber)

    I cannot swim, sir.

    sé · A skill, and the yo form is sé.

  8. Don Quijote y Sancho se ___ en el pueblo.

    Don Quixote and Sancho know each other from the village.

    conocen · People, so conocer.

Common questions

What is the difference between saber and conocer?

Saber is to know information or how to do something: sé la respuesta, sé cocinar. Conocer is to know a person, a place or a thing by experience: conozco a Luis, conozco París.

How do you say I can swim in Spanish?

Sé nadar, with saber, because it is a skill you have learnt. Puedo nadar means you are physically able or allowed to at this moment.

Does conocer always take a?

Only with people and pets: conozco a tu jefe. With places and things there is no a: conozco este barrio.

What does conocí mean?

I met, for the first time: conocí a Pedro en Málaga. Conocía, the imperfect, means I already knew him.

What does supe mean?

I found out: supe la noticia ayer. Sabía means I knew, over a period of time.

Can I use saber with a place?

Only for facts about it: sé dónde está Toledo. To say you have been there or know it well, use conocer: conozco Toledo.

How do I say nice to meet you?

Encantado or encantada, or mucho gusto. The longer form is encantado de conocerte, with conocer.

What does saber a mean?

To taste of: sabe a chocolate. ¿A qué sabe? is what does it taste like?

The things to remember

The book this comes from

Cover of Don Quixote in Easy Spanish.

Don Quixote in Easy Spanish: the whole novel retold in Spanish you can actually read, in 58 short episodes, with the hard words glossed in the margin. It is where every Don Quixote sentence on this page comes from.

In EPUB and PDF with its audiobook, and a second novel in the same Spanish. See the books.

Where the course teaches this

2 lessons build it up, each one inside a chapter of the story rather than in the abstract. Free to read, with the vocabulary, the audio and the exercises.

Next to this one

The points that sit closest to this one, and that a student usually meets around the same time.