Learn The Difference Between Saber and Conocer in Spanish

Do you know what saber and conocer mean in Spanish? They both mean "to know".

In English, we have one verb for this concept, whereas in Spanish, we have to distinguish between various situations that call for one verb of the other. In this article, you will learn how to differentiate between and use saber and conocer.

The first thing you should know about is verb conjugation. In English, we know who is performing an action because we use a subject pronoun before the verb, such as he, she, I, or we. In Spanish, we can use these pronouns, as well, but it is necessary to change the end of the verb for each subject. This is the most common way to distinguish between subjects, making words like he, she, I, or we unnecessary in many cases.

So how do we conjugate a verb? There are 3 types of Spanish verbs that correspond with their endings. They are -AR (hablar, to speak, for example), -ER (comer, to eat), and -IR (vivir, to live). To conjugate in the present tense, we take those last two letters of the verb off and add a new ending that corresponds with each pronoun. The pronouns in Spanish are laid out for you in this chart:

Each of these pronouns has a corresponding ending for -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs. We’ll start with -AR verbs. Here are those verb endings:

As you can see in the chart, él, ella, and usted all share a common ending, as do ellos, ellas, and ustedes. Sometimes using the pronoun can help clear up confusion if your interlocutor doesn’t know who you’re talking about.

Let’s look at an example of how to conjugate. As we learned previously, the verb hablar means to speak. If I want to say “I speak”, I take off the -AR at the end of the verb and replace it with “o”, the ending that goes with the pronoun for I. The result is (yo) hablo. There are different endings for -ER and -IR. The process we follow is the same as it would be for -AR verbs.

-ER Verbs: For verbs that end in “er”, like comer (to eat):

-IR Verbs: For verbs that end in “ir”, like vivir (to live):

Saber and conocer are both -ER verbs, so we’ll focus on the -ER chart for the rest of this article.

How to Use Saber in Spanish

The verb saber means to know and is used for factual knowledge. You can use the verb saber to tell someone that you know how to get to the mall from their house or that you know what currency they use in Guatemala. If you wanted to say “I know what you did last summer” or “I know how to play chess”, you would pick saber.

We will use the -ER verb chart to conjugate saber, however, it has an irregular yo form. This means that when you go to say “I know”, the verb doesn’t follow the rules we went over. The rest of the forms do, however. Here is a chart that will help you conjugate the verb saber in all of its forms in the present tense.

How to Use Conocer in Spanish

The verb conocer, as we have covered, also means to know, but its meaning is to be familiar with. You would use the verb conocer to tell someone that you personally know the King of Spain or you’re familiar with Mexico City and have been there. If you wanted to say “I know that town really well” or “I know him,” you would pick conocer. If you can replace “to know” with “to be familiar with,” you will likely need the verb conocer.

Like with saber, we will also use the -ER verb chart to conjugate conocer. It also has an irregular yo form that does not follow the rules of the verb conjugation chart. Here is a chart that will help you conjugate the verb conocer in all of its forms in the present tense.

Practice Saber and Conocer in Spanish

Here are a few practice problems to help you learn how to conjugate the verbs saber and conocer. Conjugate them for the forms provided. The answers will be below this section, so once you’re finished, scroll down to see how many you got right!

1. Yo (saber)
2. Tú (conocer)
3. Ella (saber)
4. Nosotros (conocer)
5. Vosotros (saber)
6. Ellos (saber)
7. Yo (conocer)
8. Tú (saber)
9. Ellos (conocer)
10. Vosotros (conocer)

Identify which verb you would use for each sentence, saber or conocer:

1. Do you know the city of New York?
2. I don't know when the next flight arrives.
3. I know the history teacher for many years.
4. He knows how to speak English very well.
5. My friends don't know my family.
6. Do you know how to get to the city center?
7. We know that the exam is tomorrow.
8. They don't know the song that is playing.
9. You all know where the bathroom is, right?
10. You all know the city very well because you've lived here your whole life.

Answers to Saber and Conocer Practice

Here are the answers to the practice problems:

Section 1

1. Yo (saber) - sé
2. Tú (conocer) - conoces
3. Ella (saber) - sabe
4. Nosotros (conocer) - conocemos
5. Vosotros (saber) - sabéis
6. Ellos (saber) - saben
7. Yo (conocer) - conozco
8. Tú (saber) - sabes
9. Ellos (conocer) - conocen
10. Vosotros (conocer) - conocéis

Section 2

1. Do you know the city of New York? - conocer
2. I don't know when the next flight arrives. - saber
3. I know the history teacher for many years. - conocer
4. He knows how to speak English very well. - saber
5. My friends don't know my family. - conocer
6. Do you know how to get to the city center? - saber
7. We know that the exam is tomorrow. - saber
8. They don't know the song that is playing. - conocer
9. You all know where the bathroom is, right? - saber
10. You all know the city very well because you've lived here your whole life. - conocer

Use Saber and Conocer Like a Pro!

Knowing how to conjugate properly and choose the correct verb required for your sentence may seem like a small detail, but it makes your Spanish sound practiced, informed, and elevated. Try another practice set, and don’t get discouraged if it takes a few tries to remember all the verb endings or identify which verb to use. Practice makes perfect in the language learning journey!