Language/French/Vocabulary/To-Know
French has 2 verbs to say "to know": "savoir" and "connaître".
Connaissez-vous cette personne ? Do you know this person?
Savoir
To know how to do something
In French, to say "I know how to do something", you use "je sais" + verb infinitive.
To know who, what or where
Je ne sais pas ce que tu veux dire = I don’t know what you want to say Il sais où je suis = He knows where I am Elle sait où le park se trouve = She knows where the park is located Je sais d'où il vient = I know who he comes from
Useful expressions
J’en sais rien
It means "I’ve no idea".
Note that this is a rather informal expression. Use it with people you know well.
Tu sais quoi?
This is a familiar expression meaning “you know what?”. Tu sais quoi ? J’en ai marre ! = You know what? I’m fed up with it!
Qui sait
It means "who knows?".
Il y est déjà peut être allé, qui sait ? = Maybe, he has already been there, who knows?
un je ne sais quoi
This expression is used to say “I don’t know what”.
Elle avait un certain je ne sais quoi qui m'a tout de suite plu = She had a certain je ne sais quoi I liked right away
Connaître
The meaning of “connaître” is closer to “to be familiar with”.
“Connaître” is directly followed by a person, place or thing while “savoir” is followed by an interrogative pronoun or a verb.
To know someone or something personally
Tu connais ce bar ? = Are you familiar with this bar? Est-ce que vous connaissez le prix des loyers à Marseille ? = Do you know the rents in Marseille?
Useful expressions
Connaître la musique
This expression means that you are used to something because you've already experienced it many times.
Merci, ne m'en parle pas, je connais la musique = Don't tell me, I know!
Connaître sur le bout des doigts
it means you know it perfectly, " like the back of your hand" Tu es prêt pour le test ? Oui je connais le sujet sur le bout des doigts = Are you ready for the test? Yes, I know the topic like the back of my hand.
Connaître par coeur
It means “to know something by heart”. Je connais ma leçon par coeur = I know my lesson by heart
If you have a question about the difference between "savoir" and "connaître", post it here !