35 Comments
I found this explanation on wordreference (on a thread about German)
in Turkish: bilmek(wissen) and tanımak(kennen)
With verbs, we use "bilmek" with accusative.
Ex: piyano çalmayı bilmek: to know how to play piano
With people, we can use both, the meaning changes.
With bilmek:
James'i biliyorum. (I've heard of James, I have an acquaintance)
With tanımak:
James'i tanıyorum. (I know James.)
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just to warn, bilmek(wissen) and tanımak(kennen) does not always fit. That's why many Turks who grew up in Germany mix these two up, last week somebody asked me "bu restoranı tanıyor musun?" (do you know this restaurant), one would use kennen auf Deutsch - but we cannot use tanımak in Turkish.
tanımak is - probably- exclusive to people. I am thinking of exceptions and will write when I come up with some. others should feel free to add examples :)
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So it is actually like Dutch, you can't use 'kennen'' for non living things. So can I use this thing to seperate Bilmek and Tanimak?
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I don't think it's as easy as that in Dutch. Surely kennen can be applied to a city you have been to once, or to your friend's new computer that you have been shown proudly, in Dutch just like in German.
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Oh, really, I am Dutch and I do not know all those rules, because uuhm, I know actually when to use then without knowinh why. But thanks, now I know something new!
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For people who know/learn French, the difference between bilmek and tanimak is the same as «savoir» and «connaître».
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Can tanimak be used as know in a sense of recognition? I speak another Turkic language and the word 'tanirga' means 'recognise' in it.
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Seni is the accusative case of sen. I love you : ben seni seviyorum. Sana is the directive case of sen. I send to you a message. Ben sana bir mesaj gönderiyorum.
as I dont speak German, is "tanımak" like the "know of" in English while "bilmek" is like "know" ? as in the difference between "I know John" and "I know of John" ? Or is it somewhat like the spanish conocer and saber?
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yes, "I know John" is "John'u tanıyorum" and "I know of John" is "John'u biliyorum". As I wrote above, tanımak is only for people (maybe there are some exceptions but I don't think so)
Sorry I don't speak any Spanish :)
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Glad I kept reading down this far before I posted my question, it was really similar, just that it explained the two Spanish verbs a little better. The two verbs seem to be similar to the spanish ones mentioned in terms of how to use them with people. The difference is, though, that where you say tanımak can probably only be used with people, neither Spanish verb is exclusive to people.
But, so, if I may confirm the well formedness of a sentence that I use all the time to teach the difference between the two Spanish verbs, I could say something like: "başkanı biliyorum ama onu tanımiyorum"?
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I think that is similar to Spanish... you are right. I speak a little bit Spanish, but I think some diference is similar in Spanish. ;-)
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I am knowing you (right now)? Why do you use present continuous in these sentences?
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we tend to overuse present continuous. We even use it for habitual activities (her gün kitap okuyorum). I know it is weird :)
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English use of the continuous has a few idiosyncratic restrictions caused by the fact that it's a relatively recent feature of the language. The situation in most European languages (I think all European languages taught by Duolingo except Welsh) is similar to the limited extent that they even have a continuous. Turkish has had the continuous since practically forever, so I guess linguists would actually expect Turkish to overuse it.
Of course this is a surprise to most English speakers, since English uses the continuous most systematically among all the languages they are most likely to learn.
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Ok, it is overused. It kind of seems like the standard present form actually so I guess my safest bet would be to use the present continuous instead of the present simple. Are there any situations where you under no circumstances would use the present simple instead of the present continuous? I have not come across any so far.
‘I do not eat meat’-‘Et yemem’/‘Et yemiyorum’
So if i use "ben seni tanırım" would people understand me or are we restricted to present continuous in the verb "tanımak"?
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In some dialects, it is normal to use 'Ben seni tanırm.' But if you're going to state that you know someone simply, you would say 'Ben seni tanıyorum.'
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İ am arabic ,but i know french . So,simply (biliyorum) is the knowledge of something ; you can explain it somehow. But (tanımak ,tanıyoyum ..) is for the human knowledge ; it is a mix of (bilirmek)+expariance+feeling = this is how i know someone.
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No differnce in hindi ..only one words is always used in Hindi language that is "Janta"
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I don't care which one I use just as long as I don't get people laughing at me because that makes me embarrassed lol. So, 'tanımak' is to know SOMEONE, and 'bilmek' is to know SOMETHING? I should probably know this but I'm a little confused. Thanks x
