Saber vs Conocer in Spanish: The Simple Way to Choose
Saber is for facts and skills. Conocer is for people, places and things you're familiar with. Clear rules, conjugation, the past-tense meaning change, and a quick self-test.
Learn SpanishFree app with audio, quizzes and real booksEnglish has one verb, "to know". Spanish has two. Saber is knowing information: a fact, an answer, how to do something. Conocer is being acquainted with someone or something: a person, a city, a book, a song.
The quick table
| Saber | Conocer | |
|---|---|---|
| What you know | Facts, information, answers | People, places, things you're familiar with |
| How to do something | ✓ Sé nadar. (I can swim.) | – |
| A person | – | ✓ Conozco a Ana. (I know Ana.) |
| A place | – | ✓ Conozco Madrid. (I know Madrid / I've been to Madrid.) |
| Before que, si, dónde, quién… | ✓ Sé que es tarde. | – |
When to use saber
Facts and information. ¿Sabes su número? (Do you know his number?)
Before a clause. No sé dónde vive. (I don't know where he lives.) ¿Sabes si viene? (Do you know if she's coming?)
How to do something. Saber + infinitive means "to know how to": Sé cocinar. (I know how to cook.) There's no need for cómo: Sé nadar is the natural way to say it.
Something by heart. Sé la canción de memoria. (I know the song by heart.)
When to use conocer
People. Conozco a tu hermano. (I know your brother.) Notice the a: Spanish puts the "personal a" before a person who is the object of a verb.
Places. ¿Conoces México? (Have you been to Mexico? / Do you know Mexico?)
Being familiar with something. Conozco este libro, pero no lo he leído. (I know this book, but I haven't read it.)
Conjugation
Both verbs are irregular only in the yo form of the present tense:
| Saber | Conocer | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | sé | conozco |
| tú | sabes | conoces |
| él / ella / usted | sabe | conoce |
| nosotros | sabemos | conocemos |
| vosotros | sabéis | conocéis |
| ellos / ustedes | saben | conocen |
Sé (I know) has an accent, so it doesn't get confused with se.
The meaning changes in the past
In the preterite, both verbs describe the moment the knowing began:
- Supe la verdad ayer. (I found out the truth yesterday.)
- Conocí a Ana en 2020. (I met Ana in 2020.)
In the imperfect, they describe knowing as an ongoing state:
- Sabía la verdad. (I knew the truth.)
- Conocía a Ana. (I knew Ana.)
There's more on this in Preterite vs Imperfect.
Test yourself
Choose saber or conocer in the right form, then check below.
- ¿___ (tú) a mi profesora?
- No ___ (yo) dónde están las llaves.
- Mi hermano ___ tocar la guitarra.
- ¿___ (ustedes) Barcelona?
- Yo no ___ la respuesta.
- Ayer ___ (yo, preterite) a tus padres.
Answers: 1. Conoces (a person). 2. sé (information). 3. sabe (a skill). 4. Conocen (a place). 5. sé (a fact). 6. conocí (I met them).
Keep going
Both verbs are in our Spanish irregular present tense lesson, which has a quiz. French has the same split: see Savoir vs Connaître.
The difference becomes second nature once you've met both verbs in a few hundred real sentences. Our Learn Spanish app takes you from vocabulary and grammar through graded reading to full classics with a translation under every line. It's free to download, though some books and extra content need diamonds you earn while learning, or Premium.