Saber vs Conocer: A comprehensive guide.

You’re having a nice chat in Spanish, feeling proud and confident. All is going well until you find yourself thinking, “Wait, should I use ‘saber’ or ‘conocer’? What’s the difference between them?” If that’s you, don’t worry, you’re in the right place!

Yes, both “saber” and “conocer” can mean “to know”, but they’re used in different situations. We’re going to look at all these differences and situations in this guide. By the end, we promise you’ll know when to use “saber” and when to use “conocer”.

In this article we’ll cover:

• Saber vs Conocer/ Conocer vs Saber
• Saber and Conocer conjugation
• When to use Saber?
• When to use Conocer?
• Interchangeable Saber and Conocer
• Expressions using Saber
• Practice time
• Final words

Let’s go for it!

Saber vs Conocer

Both “saber” and “conocer” can mean “to know” in English, but they’re not always interchangeable. There’s only one case where they might be – and we’ll talk about that later. Because “saber” and “conocer” are used in specific situations, it can be a little confusing for Spanish learners at first.

But once you understand when to use “saber” and when to use “conocer”, you’ll find it a lot easier. 

To help you out, we’ve put together a chart showing you when to use “saber” and when to use “conocer”.

Saber	Conocer
Facts	Person
Skills and knowledge	Places
Information	Things

We know you’re probably eager to see some examples and get a more detailed explanation. Don’t worry, we’re going to cover all that. But first, let’s look at how to conjugate both “saber” and “conocer”.

Saber and conocer conjugation

Before we dive into some examples, it’s important to understand the conjugation of “saber” and “conocer”. In this guide, we’ll keep it simple and easy for you. Most of the examples will be in the simple present tense (Present indicative). So, let’s start by looking at how to conjugate “saber” and “conocer” in the present tense.

Subject pronouns	Saber	Conocer
Yo	Sé	Conozco
Tú	Sabes	Conoces
Él-Ella-Usted	Sabe	Conoce
Ustedes-Ellos/Ellas	Saben	Conocen
Nosotros/Nosotras	Sabemos	Conocemos

Great! Now that you’ve got a basic understanding of the differences between “conocer” and “saber”, let’s delve deeper into when to use each of them. We’ll start with “saber”.

When to Use Saber

“Saber” is used when talking about facts, skills, and acquired knowledge. It’s also used when you know something by heart. Here are some examples for each situation:

Facts 

Saber is used when you know about scientific facts, general trivia, or events.

Examples:

• I know that H2O is water
  Yo sé que H2O es agua

• Nobody knows that Ana is coming to my house today
  Nadie sabe que Ana viene a mi casa hoy

• My students know that in Brazil they speak Portuguese
  Mis estudiantes saben que en Brasil hablan portugués

• I didn’t know that Costa Rica means Rich Coast in English
  Yo no sabía que Costa Rica significa Rich Coast en inglés

• Do you know that the official name of Mexico is the United Mexican States?
  ¿Sabes que el nombre oficial de México es Estados Unidos Mexicanos?

As you can see in one of the last examples is used yo no sabía- I didn’t know, which is the conjugation of saber in imperfect tense.

Skills and knowledge

When you wish to discuss skills you have learned, how to do something, or the absence of such knowledge, use “saber”. Here are some examples:

• I know how to speak Spanish
  Yo sé hablar español

• I don’t know how to speak Spanish
  Yo no sé hablar español

• We don’t know how to sing well
  Nosotras no sabemos cantar bien

• My sister knows how to cook Indian food
  Mi hermana sabe cocinar comida hindú

• Luis and José know math, they are very good at school
  Luis y José saben matemáticas, son muy buenos en la escuela

Here’s a helpful tip for you, because we know you enjoy tips and we want to make learning Spanish simpler for you!

When talking about a learned skill, first you change “saber” to match who is doing the action, then add the verb in its base form (not changed: ends in -ar -er -ir).

Saber + Infinitive verb (ar/er/ir)

I know how to + dance/cook/speak 

Yo sé + bailar/cocinar/hablar 

Do you get it? Let’s look at some examples next.

Examples:

• I know how to speaks spanish
  Yo sé hablar español

• We know how to cook Indian food
  Sabemos cómo cocinar comida Hindú.

• Maria and Juan know how to drive a truck
  María y Juan saben conducir un camión.

Information 

If you need to talk about basic details like how things are going, when something happens, or where something is, or even if you want to show you don’t know, you use “saber”. Here are some examples:

• They know where Maria i
  Ellos saben dónde está Maria

• Do you know what time the concert is?
  ¿Sabes a qué hora es el concierto?

• I know where the party is at night. Let’s go together
  Yo sé dónde es la fiesta en la noche, vamos juntos

• They don’t know what time the train leaves
  Ellas no saben a qué horas sale el tren

• My brother is in the hospital, I don’t know if he’s okay
  Mi hermano está en el hospital, yo no sé si está bien

• Ana is traveling now, but we don’t know if she has already arrived
  Ana está viajando ahora, pero nosotros no sabemos si ya llegó

To Know Something by Memory

You use “saberse”, which is like a mirror word, instead of just “saber” when you really know something well. Here are some examples:

• Laura doesn’t know irregular verbs in Spanish
  Laura no se sabe los verbos irregulares en español

• Oh! I know the lyrics of that song, it’s a very old song
  ¡Oh! Yo me sé la letra de esa canción, es una canción muy vieja

Now do you understand better how to use “saber”? It’s not that hard after all!

Let’s check out how to use “conocer” next.

When to Use Conocer

Conocer is used to express familiarity and acquaintance with a person, place or things, to put it simpler, you could be familiar with a person, a place, a song, a movie, a city and so on. 

Let’s review each case in detail.

People

When you want to show you know someone or a group of people, or even when you don’t know them, you use “conocer”. Here are some examples:

• Do you know my sister?
  ¿Conoces a mi hermana?

• I’m sorry but I don’t know you
  Lo siento, pero no te conozco

• I know your boyfriend, he studies with me
  Yo conozco a tu novio, él estudia conmigo

• I know your Spanish teacher
  Yo conozco a tu maestro de español

We know you like helpful tips, so here’s one for you: always use the word “a” after “conocer” (once you’ve changed it to match who’s doing the action).

Conocer + a

I know + Maria/your parents/the teacher

Yo conozco + a + Maria, tus padres, el maestro

Examples:

• Luis knows my son
  Luis conoce a mi hijo

• They know my Spanish teacher
  Ellas conocen a mi maestro de español

• You don’t know my dog Lucas
  Ustedes no conocen a mi perro Lucas

In preterite (simple past) tense conocer means to meet someone for the first time.

When you want to say that you met someone or some people for the first time, you always use “conocer”. Let’s first look at the past tense changes for this word.

Subject pronouns	Conocer
Yo	Conocí
Tú	Conociste
Él-Ella-Usted	Conoció
Ustedes-Ellos/Ellas	Conocieron
Nosotros/Nosotras	Conocimos

Examples:

• I met María in Spanish classes
  Yo conocí a María en las clases de español

• We met your family two years ago
  Nosotros conocimos a tu familia hace dos años

• Luis met his girlfriend in Guatemala
  Luis conoció a su novia en Guatemala

• I met my Spanish teacher on LingoToGo, my teacher is the best
  Yo conocí a mi maestro de español en LingoToGo, mi maestro es el mejor

Here, you should also use the word “a“, like we said before.

Conocer in a reciprocal way (each other)

When you want to say that you or someone else meet a persona for the first time in a reciprocal way (each other), you use conocerse like a reflexive verb, examples

• Ana and I met at Spanish school
  Ana y yo nos conocimos en la escuela de español 

• They are boyfriends, they have known each other for 5 years
  Ellos son novios, se conocieron desde hace 5 años

• We met yesterday
  Nosotros nos conocimos ayer

• I don’t remember how we met
  No recuerdo cómo nos conocimos

Places

If you know a place like a restaurant, a city, a park, a house, or even if you don’t know it, you should use “conocer”. Here are some examples:

• We know Spain, we went last year
  Nosotros conocemos España, fuimos el año pasado

• She doesn’t know Buenos Aires yet
  Ella no conoce Buenos Aires, todavía

• I know this restaurant, it is very good
  Conozco este restaurante, es muy bueno

But be careful, as you can see, you don’t use the word “a” when you’re talking about places.

Things

Conocer is used to express knowledge about objects or things too. Here are some examples:

• We know that movie, it’s very bad
  Nosotros conocemos esa pelicula, es muy mala

• I know that book, it is very interesting
  Yo conozco ese libro, es muy interesante

• I don’t know that car, but my son Juan does, Juan loves cars
  No conozco ese carro, pero mi hijo Juan sí, Juan ama los carros

• Of course! I know all the parts of the human body because I am a doctor
  ¡Claro que sí! Conozco todas las partes del cuerpo humano, porque soy doctor

So, these are all the ways and differences for using “saber” and “conocer”. But, guess what? There’s one case where you could use either. Let’s look at it next.

Interchangeable Uses of Saber and Conocer

There’s one case where “saber” and “conocer” can be used interchangeably. That’s when you’re talking about thought-like ideas. Here are some examples:

• Knowing the origin of philosophy is essential
  Saber/conocer el origen de la filosofía es fundamental

• The human wants to know the reason for its existence
  El humano quiere saber/conocer la razón de la existencia

• Mathematicians need to know more about algorithms
  Los matemáticos necesitan saber/conocer más sobre los algoritmos 

• Scientists want to know more information about the universe and space
  Los científicos quieren saber/conocer más información sobre el universo y el espacio

As you can see, in this situation you can swap “saber” and “conocer”. There’s a small difference though. “Saber” is used to discover the truth of something and “conocer” is to want to know something for sure. That’s the little difference, but you can use both here.

Don’t worry, though. This case is not as common and is mostly used in books, documentaries, or advanced science and tech topics. But it’s still good for you to be able to spot this case.

Expressions Using Saber

There are some common phrases that are used in Spanish. Maybe you’ve already heard them on TV or even from your friends who speak Spanish natively. Here they are:

Expression with saber	English
Lo sé.	I know
Que yo sepa.	As far as I know
¡Quién sabe!	Who knows!
No se sabe.	Nobody knows
¡Yo qué sé!	How should I know!
No saber ni papa.	To know nothing about something
De haberlo sabido.	If only I would know
Para que lo sepas.	Just so you know

Let’s check out some examples to understand these better…

• Juan doesn’t love me, I know, I’m sad
  Juan no me quiere, lo sé, estoy triste

• I know nothing about maths, I need to study more
  No sé ni papa de matemáticas, necesito estudiar más

• Nobody knows at what time the surprise party starts
  No se sabe a qué horas empieza la fiesta sorpresa

• It’s going to rain, I better bring my umbrella, Who knows!
  Va a llover, mejor llevo mi sombrilla, ¡Quién sabe! 

• As far as I know, the Spanish class is tomorrow at LingoToGo
  Que yo sepa, la clase de español es mañana en LingoToGo 

Some of these phrases are used quite a bit.

But relax!

You don’t need to remember all of them, just pick what you like and what you find helpful for your word list.

Practice time

Now it is your turn to practice the saber vs conocer in Spanish, fill in the blanks:

1. Juan knows all my family
   Juan ________ a toda mi familia

2. Ana met Juan in Mexico
   Ana __________ a juan en México

3. Maria knows how to play the piano
   Maria ________ tocar el piano

4. Do you know how to speak Spanish?
   ¿Tú ________ hablar español?

5. When I traveled to Argentina, I didn’t know anyone
   Cuando viajé a Argentina, yo no ________ a nadie

6. My students know the song in Spanish
   Mi estudiantes se _________ la canción en español

7. My family knows that restaurant, it’s very good
   Mi familia ________ ese restaurante, es muy bueno

8. I didn’t know that in Brazil they speak Portuguese
   Yo no ________ que en Brasil hablan Portugues

9. Laura and Maria know how to cook Italian and French food
   Laura y Maria ________ cocinar comida Italiana y Francesa

10. Science wants to know more about Neanderthals
    La ciencia quiere ___________  más sobre los neandertales

11. We know the park very well, we always walk there
    Nosotros _________ muy bien el parque, siempre caminamos allí

12. My sister is traveling, I don’t know yet if she arrived safe
    Mi hermana está viajando, todavía no ______ si ya llegó bien

13. I know how to speak Spanish, I am learning in LingoToGo
    Yo _________ hablar español, estoy aprendiendo en LingoToGo

14. They have known each other for 2 years, they are very good friends
    Ellas se _________  desde hace 2 años, son muy buenas amigas

15. Do you know that Colombia produces 90% of emeralds in the world?
    ¿_________ que Colombia produce el 90% de esmeraldas en el mundo?

Note: The answers are at the end of the article.

Final words

And there you go! You did it!

Now you understand the difference between “saber” and “conocer”. We bet you have friends who also find this topic tricky. Go on, be a great friend and share this guide with them too!

This is the only “saber vs. conocer” guide you need. Keep it close because you’ll use it.

We know this might be a lot to take in, but just remember to only take what you need. Don’t stress about trying to remember all of it. The main thing here is to keep practicing, as practice makes perfect, and we’re here to help you.

Answers

Here are the answers to the exercises of Conocer vs saber.

1. Juan knows all my family
   Juan conoce a toda mi familia

2. Ana met Juan in Mexico
   Ana conoció a Juan en México

3. Maria knows how to play the piano
   Maria sabe tocar el piano

4. Do you know how to speak Spanish?
   ¿Tú sabes hablar español?

5. When I traveled to Argentina, I didn’t know anyone
   Cuando viajé a Argentina, yo no conocía a nadie

6. My students know the song in Spanish
   Mis estudiantes se saben la canción en español

7. My family knows that restaurant, it’s very good
   Mi familia conoce ese restaurante, es muy bueno

8. I didn’t know that in Brazil they speak Portuguese
   Yo no sabía que en Brasil hablan Portugués

9. Laura and Maria know how to cook Italian and French food
   Laura y María saben cocinar comida Italiana y Francesa

10. Science wants to know more about Neanderthals
    La ciencia quiere saber/conocer  más sobre los neandertales

11. We know the park very well, we always walk there
    Nosotros conocemos muy bien el parque, siempre caminamos allí

12. My sister is traveling, I don’t know yet if she arrived safe
    Mi hermana está viajando, todavía no sé si llegó bien

13. I know how to speak Spanish, I am learning in LingoToGo
    Yo sé hablar español, estoy aprendiendo en LingoToGo 

14. They have known each other for 2 years, they are very good friends
    Ellas se conocen desde hace 2 años, son muy buenas amigas

15. Do you know that Colombia produces 90% of emeralds in the world?
    ¿Sabes que Colombia produce el 90% de esmeraldas en el mundo?

Check out our series of Complete Spanish Grammar articles – everything you’ll ever need to know about Spanish grammar.

Or, learn more about LingoToGo here.

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