Updated on January 3, 2024
What’s the difference between saber and conocer in Spanish?
Both Spanish verbs mean “to know,” so what’s the difference between saber and conocer? This question often stumps learners of Spanish, and the distinction can be difficult to grasp But it’s important to take the time to understand the appropriate context for each Spanish verb, as they have different meanings and are (usually) not interchangeable.
To put it simply, the key difference between saber and conocer boils down to the type of knowledge in question. Saber relates to knowing information or facts. Conocer is generally used to express a familiarity with places, people or things.
In this guide, we’ll review some helpful examples that clarify when to use saber vs. conocer. We’ll also look at how each verb is conjugated in several common tenses, including the present, simple past, and simple future.
As with the verbs estar vs. ser (to be), the difference between saber and conocer depends on the context. Yes, the two words are related—both of them describe knowledge or awareness. But they describe unique types of knowledge or awareness and are thus used in distinct situations. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Let’s look at a sentence to illustrate the difference:
Here, we’re saying that we’re familiar with the existence of the song (conozco is a conjugated form of conocer) but we don’t possess information on the content (sé is a conjugated form of saber).
Now let’s delve deeper into how to know when to use saber or conocer.
There are two general use cases for saber. The first involves possessing knowledge of information or facts. The second relates to general skills or know-how.
Let’s look at some specific uses and examples:
Beyond knowing when to use saber, let’s take a look at some basic conjugations. Which one you use will depend, of course, on the gender and number of the subject in question.
Let’s look at the present, simple past and simple future tenses of saber:
| Pronoun | Present | Simple past | Simple future |
| Yo (I) | Sé | Supe | Sabré |
| Tú (you) | Sabes | Supiste | Sabrás |
| Él/ella/usted (he/she/formal you) | Sabe | Supo | Sabrá |
| Nosotros/nosotras (masculine we/female we) | Sabemos | Supimos | Sabremos |
| Ellos/ellas (masculine they/female they) | Saben | Supieron | Sabrán |
| Ustedes (plural you) | Saben | Supieron | Sabrán |
Conocer refers to being familiar or acquainted with something, somewhere or someone. It’s related to (but not entirely synonymous with) the process of recognizing. Spanish speakers typically use it in the following situations:
When we know or are familiar with a person (or not):
When we know a place (or don’t):
When we’re acquainted with something (or are not):
When we’re meeting or would like to be acquainted with someone or something:
Let’s look at some conjugations of conocer:
| Pronoun | Present | Simple past | Simple future |
| Yo (I) | Conozco | Conocí | Conoceré |
| Tú (you) | Conoces | Conociste | Conocerás |
| Él/ella/usted (he/she/formal you) | Conoce | Conoció | Conocerá |
| Nosotros/nosotras (masculine we/female we) | Conocemos | Conocimos | Conoceremos |
| Ellos/ellas (masculine they/female they) | Conocen | Conocieron | Conocerán |
| Ustedes (plural you) | Conocen | Conocieron | Conocerán |
Whenever you’re in doubt about when to use saber and conocer, just think of whether you would say you are familiar (conocer) with something or you know (saber) a piece of knowledge. Keep those simple differences in mind, and you’ll soon begin to intuit when to use saber or conocer as you speak. Knowledge is power, right? We know you’ll be a pro in no time.
