- Forum >
- Topic: German >
- "Er kennt das Bier."
119 Comments
Since "kennen" means "to be familiar with", I would say "he knows the brand of beer" is what it means.
Thanks for clarifying. I figured it had something to do with translation/context.
yes, kennen is if you are familiar with something, wissen is when you are expressing a fact
199
So it seems that the meanings of kennen and wissen are roughly analogous to those of conocer and saber in Spanish.
Except in French you would never say "je sais cette biere." It's always "je connais cette biere."
Why do you use "except"?
It is the same in German: you would say Ich kenne das Bier and not Ich weiß das Bier.
Same as cunoaştere and ştire in Romanian (although this form of the infinitive fell out of use some time ago)
isn't "kennen" used when you talk about knowing people with "wissen" used for all other things? i'm confused now because i thought one of the moderators explained this in a way that contradicts what you've said above.
isn't "kennen" used when you talk about knowing people with "wissen" used for all other things?
That's a good rule of thumb, but it's simplified a bit.
You can kennen (be acquainted) with other things than people -- for example, with places or a particular brand of beer. Roughly, if it makes sense to replace "know" with "know of", then kennen will probably work.
Based on what you've just explained, if someone asks me about a subject that i've never hear of before, my answer should be,
"Ich kenne das nicht" instead of "Ich weiß nicht"
I can be missing any awareness of what flowers are, "Ich kenne Blumen nicht" or i can be lacking any deep, scientific understanding of flowers, "Ich weiß Blumen nicht"...
am i understanding your explanation correctly?
Based on what you've just explained, if someone asks me about a subject that i've never hear of before, my answer should be,
"Ich kenne das nicht" instead of "Ich weiß nicht"
I suppose so, if you've never heard of it.
"What do you think of kinesiology? -- No idea: I don't know that word."
Was hältst du von Kinesiologie? -- Keine Ahnung; ich kenne das Wort nicht.
"Ich weiß Blumen nicht" is not a correct sentence in German. "wissen" can only be used for knowing abstract concepts.
- 1412
Why not, "He knows beer," or "He knows about beer". Why does Duo insist on "the" in English? It sounds to me like someone who is an expert on beer. If not, it would be great to have an explanation from someone who understands this.
"He knows beer" and "he knows the beer" are both valid sentences in English, but with different meanings. Using "the" makes it more specific. It works similarly in German, and for that reason we should keep the meaning the same when translating, which involves keeping "the".
- 1412
Thanks. It doesn't always match up one-for-one from one language to another, so I get your point.
- 535
Many sentences are grammatically correct but aren't logical. George Carlin pointed out it was possible to say "Hand me the piano," although no one is likely to honor the speaker's request.
I'm guessing something like "he can recognize the brand of beer", which is at least an imaginable real life sentence. And which I doubt duolingo accepts as a translation, but I haven't tested.
I don't know why you were down voted... I had the same questioning too. Maybe it meant sth in German. People tend to be very ignorant sometimes
Maybe the English verb "to know" isn't as flexible as the German verb. I don't know how often the phrase is used in German, but on one website, I found this phrase "ich kenne das Bier auch nur mit dem Aroma." (roughly: I know the beer even with the aroma)
And this phrase is on a guy's twitter account, accompanying a photo of him holding a beer bottle:
- Na wer kennt das Bier noch? (Google translate: Well, who knows the beer yet?)
- https://twitter.com/thewolverous/status/635902134240837637
Yup, the distinction also occurs in the Romance languages: Spanish conocer/saber, Portuguese conhecer/saber, French savoir/connaître, Italian sapere/conoscere
People always leave out Romanian when naming Romance languages, although Romanian might be the closest to Latin haha.
I think in english it should be he knows his beer, as in he is a specialist in the 'beer' topic. He knows his stuff, does that make sense? Is that the german version is trying to say?
I think this is a bit of a German culture phrase. For example, a bartender is likely to double check with you as a tourist if you order a Rauchbier (tastes of sausage/bacon) or a Gose (highly sour). At this point you would say 'Er kennt das Bier' and get served a tasty traditional German beer.
- 1412
Person and conjugation of verbs. Ich kenne: I know Du kennst: you know Er/sie/es kennt: He/she/it knows Wir kennen: We know Ihr kennt: You (pl.) know Sie kennen: They know
I see you have used Duolingo a lot and have high levels in 5 different languages. Would you say you are now fluent in those languages? I asked because At times I feel like I'm only learning words but that using Duo will never teach me how to actually speak the language fluently. Thanks
It doesn't help much if you're not listening to audio or video, try to find series with subtitles or learn some lyrics.
"He knows of the beer" works. I didn't try "He knows the beer" because it sounds like he's friends with the beer. :P
Does this mean he knows a particular beer well, or simply that he is knowledgeable about beer in general? And how would you say the other meaning if they're not said the same?
Ex: "We're having Duvel, have you had it? Yes, I know the beer." As opposed to "I work at a bar so I know beer."
Does this mean he knows a particular beer well, or simply that he is knowledgeable about beer in general?
Since it talks about das Bier "the beer", it refers to a particular beer that is clear from context, and the verb kennen implies that he is familiar or acquainted with it, not necessarily that he knows a lot about it or is knowledgeable about it.
"I know about beer" would be something like Ich kenne mich mit Bier aus, using the separable verb auskennen -- sich mit etwas auskennen "to know (a lot) about something; to be familiar with something; to know one's way around something". (auskennen can also be used with a place -- Kennen Sie sich hier aus? "Do you know your way around here?", e.g. before asking someone for directions.)
Could this expression be used to mean "He knows Beer" in general? Would 'Er kennt Bier' imply something different than 'Er kennt das Bier' in German?
In German you have the same distinction like in English. "Er kennt Bier" ("He knows beer" (in general)) and "Er kennt das Bier" ("He knows the beer" (a specific one)).
- 11
Would Germans actually say this say in a bar? In english we would say we know or like that style, or that variety, or that brand, but we would never say we know a beer - so what is the translation?
Just a warning - try to avoid "we would never say...". It starts arguments, because someone can always think of a context that you didn't imagine, or someone speaks a dialect of English that you didn't know about!
Take this sentence for its grammar & vocabulary, and learn "when to use things in reality" from somewhere other than Duolingo.
Throw that idea away and learn it as:
kennen = "to be familiar with"
wissen = "to know as a fact"
So kennen applies to recognizing something or someone. And, wissen applies to whether you know something as a fact?
Kind of. But note that kennen (to be familiar with) and erkennen (to recognise) are different verbs.
The English word "know" splits into two different words in German: either kennen or wissen. Read the other comments for some explanations about the difference.
how do you "know a beer"? I agree I think that "he knows the brand of the beer" makes more sense.
Duolingo doesn't necessarily recognize all colloquial translations into English; no problem really, as long as we learn the vocabulary.
He knows the alcohol beer or the animal bear. The first possiblits makes no sense.
das Bier = the beer; that beer
der Bär = the bear; that bear
So Er kennt das Bier cannot mean that he knows a bear (animal). It can only be about a beer.
"He knows that beer" makes a lot of sense to me as there are lots of varieties of beer, and it's almost guaranteed that you won't know all of them.
It really doesn't make sense to me, do you also use as e.g. "Er kennt das movie"?
Well, Movie is not a German word, but Er kennt den Film is fine for "He knows that movie" (i.e. he's familiar with it -- could mean he's just heard of it or that he's watched it).
It's an English word which you can look up in an English dictionary if you are not sure of the meaning.
- 627
If I remember correctly, in England there is a difference between beer and ale. Is it the same in Germany, or, generally speaking, does Bier cover different forms?
If I remember correctly, in England there is a difference between beer and ale.
As far as I know, "ale" is one kind of beer. Wikipedia and Wiktionary agree.
In German, Bier covers a variety of brewed drinks, even ones made from wheat rather than barley (Weißbier, Weizenbier, Hefeweizen).
Your sentence would also translate to Er kennt das Bier.
English developed a separate definite article by splitting off "that" (from the original neuter form) from "the" (from the original masculine form), but in German, der, die, das are still used for both definite article and for demonstrative determiner.
So der Apfel can mean "the apple" or "that apple", etc.
In American English I would takes this to mean the same as "He knows his beer," meaning he is familiar with a particular beer or all things pertaining to beer.
In American English I would takes this to mean the same as "He knows his beer," meaning he is familiar with a particular beer or all things pertaining to beer.
No -- that would be more Er kennt sich mit Bier aus.
"He knows of the beer" works. Dunno why "He knows the beer" sounds so weird to me as a native English speaker.
- 627
When I listen to Duolingo, "er" sounds like "air," but when I pronounce it that way I get the word wrong. Should it be pronounced differently?
I suppose "kennt" is to know someone or something as a person or familiar brand of something? And 'Weis' is for knowing facts?
I suppose "kennt" is to know someone or something as a person or familiar brand of something? And 'Weis' is for knowing facts?
Yep, that's pretty much it.
(The dictionary forms are kennen, wissen.)
It is most unlikely that any native English speaker would use such a sentence. Couldn't Duolingo use some other phrase as the phrases gets repeated so often
As an English speaker I am having a hard time coming up with times I would use 'the.' And they are all very context driven and would use 'that beer' over 'the beer.'
No. "He knows beer" is "Er kennt Bier", "He knows this beer" is "Er kennt dieses Bier".
It could, however, be "He knows that beer".
Well.. how can someone know a beer? A bit confusing. Clarify, Bitte! Danke, tschüss.
German combines the and that. We can know that beer, but not the beer. Danke! Hope this helps.
Is das both this and that?
Yes.
Would he knows this beer be accepted?
Yes.
You could say he knows the beer he likes, otherwise it would be he knows that beer. English is difficult!
Could this be a euphemism? Meaning he likes beer a lot, or is even alcoholic. "He is acquainted with beer" "He is familiar with beer" That sounds possible to me in English. I wonder about German though.
how can we understand between pronunciation of "bier" and "bar" ? please follow and Help me
I don't understand how you could possibly confuse the two. Same difference as between "fear" and "far" in English.
