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?)
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O que você sabe fazer muito bem? (What can you do very well?)
6 Comments
If you can use the expression "to be familiar with", then you would use "conhecer".
So it's just like saber/conhencer in Spanish and savoir/connaître in French?
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).
