Two verbs for “to know”
English uses one verb, know, for two different ideas. Spanish splits them. Saber is knowledge in your head: facts, information and skills. Conocer is familiarity through experience: people, places and things you have met, visited or tried.
| Saber | Conocer |
|---|---|
| a fact: sé que vive en Lima | a person: conozco a Luis |
| information: sé su número | a place: conozco Lima |
| how to do something: sé nadar | a book, film, song: conozco esa canción |
| a question word: sé dónde está | a restaurant, company, product: conozco ese bar |
| by heart: me lo sé de memoria | meeting someone: lo conocí ayer |
The three tests
Test 1: Can you put que or a question word after it? If the sentence is “I know that…”, “I know where…”, “I know if…”, it is saber. Conocer is never followed by que.
Test 2: Is it a skill? “I know how to swim” is sé nadar. Saber + infinitive means to know how. Don’t add cómo: sé nadar, not sé cómo nadar.
Test 3: Is it a person, place or thing you’ve experienced? Then it is conocer. With people, add the personal a: conozco a María.
Watch the preterite
Both verbs change meaning in the preterite. Conocí a Marta means “I met Marta” (for the first time). Supe la noticia means “I found out the news.” If you want “I knew” as a state in the past, use the imperfect: sabía, conocía.
Forms to memorize
Both are irregular only in the yo form of the present: sé (with an accent, to tell it apart from se) and conozco. The rest is regular: sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben; conoces, conoce, conocemos, conocéis, conocen.
Quick answers
What is the difference between saber and conocer?
Saber is knowing facts, information and skills: sé la respuesta, sé nadar, sé dónde vive. Conocer is being familiar with people, places and things through experience: conozco a Marta, conozco Madrid, conozco esa canción. English uses “know” for both.
Do you use saber or conocer for a person?
Conocer, with the personal a: conozco a tu hermano. Saber is never used for knowing a person. The one exception is a fact about a person: sé quién es (I know who he is).
How do you say “I know how to” in Spanish?
Saber plus the infinitive: sé nadar, sé conducir, sabe cocinar. Don't add cómo; sé cómo nadar is not natural Spanish.
What does conocí mean?
In the preterite, conocer usually means “met for the first time”: conocí a Luis en 2019 means I met Luis in 2019. Likewise, supe in the preterite means “I found out”: supe la noticia ayer.
Is it sé or se?
Sé with an accent is the yo form of saber (I know) and the command form of ser (be). Se without an accent is the pronoun, as in se levanta or se lo di.