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B1 · Verb Constructions · Published
Savoir vs Connaître
Savoir means to know facts, information, and how to do something; connaître means to know people, places, and works in the sense of being familiar with them. The fastest way to choose is to look at what follows the verb: savoir takes a clause, a question word, or an infinitive, while connaître only ever takes a noun.
English hides this split inside one verb, "to know", which is why the choice feels hard at first. French separates two kinds of knowing: information you could learn from a book or a timetable, and familiarity you could only get by meeting someone, visiting a place, or spending time with a thing.
In short
- Savoir = knowing facts and skills. It takes
que+ clause, a question word, or an infinitive. - Connaître = being familiar with people, places, and works. It only ever takes a noun phrase.
- If you can ask "to know what about it?", you are usually in savoir territory; if you could replace the object with a person, you need connaître.
savoirconnaîtrewhat follows the verb· hover a highlighted word for its label
Look at what comes after the verb
You can usually decide without thinking about meaning at all, because the structure of the sentence already knows the answer. Connaître is only ever followed by a noun phrase — a person, a place, a book, a song. Everything else — que-clauses, embedded questions, infinitives — belongs to savoir.
| After "to know" comes… | Verb to use |
|---|---|
| que + a clause | savoir |
| si, or a question word: où, quand, comment | savoir |
| an infinitive (a skill) | savoir |
| a noun phrase: a person, a place, a work | connaître |
I know the market opens at eight.
— A que-clause can only follow savoir.
I know this market well.
— A noun phrase — a place — so connaître.
Savoir: facts, information, skills
Savoir covers knowledge you could write down or demonstrate: facts, pieces of information, learned skills. Before an infinitive it means "to know how to" — French needs no extra word for "how". It is also the only choice before an embedded question with si, où, quand, or comment.
Do you know if the bakery is open?
— An embedded question — si — points to savoir.
I can swim, but I don’t know this pool.
— Skill (infinitive) → savoir; place (noun) → connaître.
She knows where the town hall is.
Connaître: people, places, works
Connaître is knowledge by acquaintance. You use it for what you have met, visited, heard, or read — people above all, then places, and works such as books, films, and songs. Grammatically it is strict: a noun phrase after it, nothing else. Connaître que does not exist in French.
Do you know this neighborhood?
— A place — only connaître can take it.
We have known the new neighbor since Monday.
— People always take connaître.
She knows all of this author’s novels.
— Works — books, films, songs — count as familiarity.
When both are possible
With a few nouns — la réponse, la leçon, le chemin, la chanson — both verbs are correct, and the structural test cannot decide. The nuance: savoir means you have it ready and could produce it on the spot; connaître means you are acquainted with it and would recognize it.
Marie knows the answer by heart.
— Savoir: she can produce it on demand.
Thomas knows the answer, but he still hesitates.
— Connaître: he has seen it before, but it is not ready.
Conjugation at a glance
Both verbs are irregular in the present tense. Watch the circumflex in il connaît — the i takes a circumflex whenever a t follows it. The past participles are su (savoir) and connu (connaître).
| Person | savoir | connaître |
|---|---|---|
| je | sais | connais |
| tu | sais | connais |
| il / elle | sait | connaît |
| nous | savons | connaissons |
| vous | savez | connaissez |
| ils / elles | savent | connaissent |
The passé composé changes the meaning
In the passé composé, both verbs jump from state to event: j’ai su means I found out, and j’ai connu means I met (or experienced). The imparfait keeps the ordinary meanings — je savais, I knew; je connaissais, I was familiar with. How state verbs like these behave across the two past tenses is covered in Passé Composé vs Imparfait.
We found out the news last night.
— Passé composé turns knowing into the moment of finding out.
She met her husband in Lyon.
— J’ai connu = the first meeting, not long familiarity.
Common mistakes
✗Je connais que tu es occupé.
✓Je sais que tu es occupé.
Connaître never takes a que-clause; before que, the only possible verb is savoir.
✗Elle sait bien Paris.
✓Elle connaît bien Paris.
Paris is a noun phrase naming a place, and people and places take connaître.
✗Il connaît conduire.
✓Il sait conduire.
A skill expressed with an infinitive always takes savoir — "he knows how to drive".
✗Tu connais où elle habite ?
✓Tu sais où elle habite ?
An embedded question (où, si, quand, comment) belongs to savoir, even when it is about a person.
Check yourself
1 / 4Je ___ que le magasin ferme à midi. (savoir / connaître)
2 / 4Tu ___ le nouveau café de la gare ? (savoir / connaître)
3 / 4Elle ___ jouer du piano. (savoir / connaître)
4 / 4Hier, nous ___ les résultats du concours. (= we found out)
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between savoir and connaître?
Both translate "to know", but savoir is for facts, information, and skills, while connaître is for familiarity with people, places, and works. Structurally, savoir takes a clause, a question word, or an infinitive; connaître only takes a noun.
Can connaître be followed by "que" or "si"?
No. Connaître only ever takes a noun phrase. Before a que-clause or an embedded question (si, où, quand, comment), French always uses savoir.
Do I say "je sais la réponse" or "je connais la réponse"?
Both are correct. Je sais la réponse suggests you have it ready and could state it on the spot; je connais la réponse means you are acquainted with it and would recognize it. A few nouns like la leçon and le chemin allow the same choice.
What is the difference between "j’ai su" and "je savais"?
Je savais (imparfait) means the knowledge was already there; j’ai su (passé composé) marks the moment you found out. The same shift turns je connaissais (I was familiar with) into j’ai connu (I met). Choosing between those two past tenses is its own topic — see Passé Composé vs Imparfait.
Memory tip
If you could learn it from a timetable, a manual, or a lesson, it is savoir. If you had to meet it, visit it, or spend time with it, it is connaître.
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