Savoir vs Connaître: All the Ways of Saying ‘To Know’ in French

The French verbs savoir vs connaître are often challenging to master since they don’t translate neatly into many languages, including English. Although they are used differently in French, both words translate to the English verb ‘to know’ in different contexts.

Connaître and savoir are the go-to verbs when you want to talk about knowledge, familiarity or skills. That’s why understanding the subtle differences between these two verbs is an essential part of your French vocabulary and will significantly advance your French communication skills.

In this article, you will learn how to use connaître vs. savoir in different contexts, read plenty of examples to make the difference clear, and get a chance to practice.

French connaître vs savoir: Conjugation

In order to use any verb in French, you need to know its conjugation, which means all the different forms that verb can take when used in context. So before delving into the differences between connaître and savoir, we will present their conjugation in the tables below.

Connaître conjugation

Savoir conjugation

When to use connaître vs. savoir

Now that you have the conjugation of both verbs, let’s look at the differences in use. In this section we will go over the rules of when to use savoir vs connaître in detail, considering both the grammar and the nuances of meaning in different contexts.

Using savoir

‘Know’ + question word or subordinate clause

Whenever you want to use a verb meaning ‘to know’ followed by a question word (like ‘where’ or ‘how’) or a subordinate clause, savoir is the only correct choice. Connaître can never be followed by another clause.

Question words are words like comment (how), pourquoi (why), quand (when), and qui (who) that introduce questions. Here are a few examples of using savoir followed by a question word:

• Je sais où le trouver.
  I know where to find him.
  

• Je ne sais pas comment l’expliquer.
  I don’t know how to explain it.
  

• Tu sais quand Lisa fête son anniversaire?
  Do you know when the appointment is?
  

And here are some examples of savoir followed by subordinate clauses:

• Je sais qu’ils n’ont pas dit la vérité.
  I know that they did not tell the truth.

• Elle ne sait pas que tu viens à la fête.
  She doesn’t know that you’re coming to the party.
  

‘I know’ or ‘I don’t know’

The forms of savoir can also stand on their own, because the subordinate clause can be implied. This is typically what happens in the answers ‘I know’ or ‘I don’t know.’ Conversely, the verb forms of connaître cannot be used on their own, without anything following.

• N’oublie pas que tu dois appeler le médecin. – Je sais.
  Remember you have to call the doctor. – I know.
  (Implied: I know that I have to call the doctor.)
  

• Comment dit-on ‘company’ en français? – Je ne sais pas.
  How do you say ‘company’ in French? – I don’t know.
  (Implied: I don’t know how you say ‘company’ in French.)
  

‘Know how to’ or ‘be able to’

Another important use of the verb savoir in French is to talk about skills. You can think of this as expressing the idea of ‘knowing how to do something.’

Perhaps the most common ways of expressing this concept in English are by using the verbs ‘can’ or ‘be able to.’ Similar to English, in French the verb savoir is followed by the infinitive form of a verb. Check the examples below:

• Est-ce que tu sais nager?
  Do you know how to swim? or Can you swim?
  

• Malgré son jeune âge, Philippe sait déjà jouer du piano et de la guitare.
  Even though he is young, Philippe can already play the piano and the guitar.
  

Using connaître

Connaître is used when ‘to know’ has the meaning of ‘being familiar with’ a person, a place, a thing or anything else. This is why it’s always followed by a noun, as you can see in the following examples:

• Est-ce que tu connais Simon? – Oui, je le connais depuis des années.
  Do you know Simon? – Yes, I’ve known him for years.
  

• Je ne connais pas Lyon, je n’y suis jamais allée.
  I don’t know Lyon. I have never been there.
  

• Je connais très bien ce domaine d’activité, j'ai travaillé sur de nombreux projets similaires.
  I know this field of work very well. I have worked on many similar projects.
  

Using either connaître or savoir

So far we’ve looked closely at all the cases when you have to use either connaître or savoir. But are there cases when both can be used? The answer is yes.

You can use both verbs in the following contexts:

1) When ‘to know’ refers to knowing a piece of information or something specific:

• Est-ce que tu connais le mot de passe de cet ordinateur portable?
  Est-ce que tu sais le mot de passe de cet ordinateur portable?
  Do you know the password for this laptop?
  

• Je connais son prénom, mais pas son nom de famille.
  Je sais son prénom, mais pas son nom de famille.
  I know his first name, but not his surname.
  

2) When ‘to know’ means knowing by heart:

• Je connais cette chanson par coeur, je l’écoute tout le temps!
  Je sais cette chanson par coeur, je l’écoute tout le temps!
  I know that song by heart. I listen to it all the time!
  

• Elle connaît beaucoup de poèmes français par cœur.
  Elle sait beaucoup de poèmes français par cœur.
  She knows many French poems by heart.
  

As you can see in the examples, these are cases in which ‘to know’ is followed by nouns. Perhaps it’s just easier to use connaître in these contexts, as it follows the rule that we’ve presented above, and then you can’t go wrong!

Recap

Savoir is always used when:

• It is followed by a subordinate clause or a question word.

  Je ne sais pas où elle habite.
  I don’t know where she lives.
  

• The verb stands on its own.

  Je sais.
  I know.
  

• It is followed by an infinitive and the meaning is ‘to know how to.’

  Elle sait jouer du piano.
  She can play the piano.
  

Connaître is always used when:

• It is followed by a noun and the meaning is ‘to be familiar with’ a place, person, thing and so on.

Pauline a un frère, mais je ne le connais pas.
Pauline has a brother, but I don’t know him.

Je connais cet auteur, j'ai lu deux de ses livres.
I know this author – I read two of his books.

Savoir and connaître can both be used when:

• The meaning is ‘to know a piece of information.’

Je connais le code d'accès du portable de ma fille.
Je sait le code d'accès du portable de ma fille.
I know the passcode to my daughter's mobile phone.

• The meaning is ‘to know by heart.’

Je connais cette histoire par coeur.
Je sais cette histoire par coeur.
I know this story by heart.

Connaître vs savoir practice

There’s no better way to learn a grammar rule than to put it into practice! In this section you’ll get a chance to practice deciding when to use connaître vs savoir in the exercises below. When you’re done, you can check your answers at the end of this section.

Savoir vs. connaître exercises

Practice A: Complete the sentences by selecting the correct option.

1. Est-ce que tu sais | connais quand Madeleine va arriver?
   (Do you know when Madeleine will arrive?)
   

2. Thierry m’a dit qu’il a un nouveau travail. – Je sais | connais.
   (Thierry told me he has a new job. – I know.)
   

3. Ils savent | connaissent Londres bien, parce qu’ils y ont vécu pendant dix ans.
   (They know London well because they’ve lived there for ten years.)
   

4. Je ne sais | connais pas mon numéro de téléphone par coeur.
   (I don’t know my phone number by heart.)
   

5. Tu sais | connais Jeanne ? C'est ma voisine.
   (Do you know Jeanne? She’s my neighbor.)
   

6. Est-ce que vous savez | connaissez qui a inventé le téléphone?
   (Do you know who invented the telephone?)
   

Practice B: Complete the sentences with the correct form of savoir or connaître.

1. Je __ Richard depuis que nous sommes enfants.
   (I’ve known Richard since we were kids.)
   

2. Je __ que tu as menti.
   (I know that you lied.)
   

3. Elle ne __ pas où garer sa voiture.
   (She doesn’t know where to park her car.)
   

4. Nous ne ____ pas ce quartier.
   (We don’t know this neighborhood.)
   

5. Tu _____ un bon restaurant italien dans le coin?
   (Do you know a good Italian restaurant around here?)
   

6. Mes enfants _____ skier depuis qu'ils sont tout petits.
   (My children have been able to ski since they were little.)
   

Answers:

Practice A: 1) sais 2) sais 3) connaissent 4) sais or connais 5) connais 6) savez
Practice B: 1) connais 2) sais 3) sait 4) connaissons 5) connais 6) savent

Wrapping up

If you got to the end of this article, we bet you’ve become an expert at French savoir vs connaître! We hope you liked learning about the nuances of meaning of the two verbs, when to use connaître vs savoir, and when both can be used. And we hope you’ve enjoyed practicing what you’ve learned with our practice section!

Today you’ve added another piece to your French learning journey – you can now talk about knowledge, familiarity and skills. Don’t stop now, as there are plenty more words and verbs to discover on your path towards proficiency!