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- CONHECER vs SABER
CONHECER vs SABER
The Portuguese verbs conhecer and saber both mean to know. However, they have different uses, as you can see in the tables below.
| saber | examples |
|---|---|
| facts and information |
Eu sei a que horas começa o evento. I know what time the event starts. |
| abilities | Ela sabe cozinhar muito bem. She knows how to cook very well. |
| things you know how to do by heart |
As crianças sabem contar até 100. The children can count to 100. |
| conhecer | examples |
|---|---|
| people (with whom we have a relationship) |
Elas me conhecem muito bem. They know me very well. O Paulo conhece a Maria do trabalho. Paulo knows Maria from work. |
| places | Eu não conheço Paris. I don't know Paris. |
| things | Você conhece o Duolingo? Do you know Duolingo? |
Practice your Portuguese by answering these questions in the comments section:
-
Quem você conhece muito bem? (Who do you know very well?)
-
O que você sabe fazer muito bem? (What can you do very well?)
6 Comments
So it's just like saber/conhencer in Spanish and savoir/connaître in French?
If you can use the expression "to be familiar with", then you would use "conhecer".
It's more common in religious songs than in daily speech (at least where I live here in Brazil), but it's also possible to say "eu sei de um lugar" (https://www.letras.mus.br/arautos-do-rei/760379/ -/- https://www.letras.mus.br/deise-jacinto/meu-interior/), "eu sei de um rio [river]" (https://www.letras.mus.br/melissa-barcelos/447147/), "eu sei de alguém" (https://www.letras.mus.br/priscilla-gollub/1401896/). It's always used with indefinite words (you'll never hear someone saying "acho que eu sei de você!", which in fact means "I think I know [something] about you!", instead of "acho que eu conheço você!", for example).
