Vocabulary
Learn Spanish: Conocer vs. Saber for People, Places, and Facts
The short answer
Use conocer when you have met someone, visited a place, or become acquainted with an artistic work. Use saber when you recall a specific fact, know an address or time, or know how to perform a skill with an infinitive.
Key points
- Choose conocer for acquaintance with people, cities, and cultural works.
- Choose saber for recalled data, phone numbers, schedules, and skills followed by an infinitive.
- Pair conocer with personal a whenever its direct object is a specific person.
This lesson has 5 stages. You can stop at any time and continue later.
Stage 1 of 5
Understand
What it means, when to use it, and mistakes to avoid.
Examples
Mi hermano conoce bien los parques de Sevilla.
My brother knows the parks of Seville well.
Why it works: Conocer expresses firsthand geographical and spatial familiarity with a city's public areas.
2 more examples
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Nosotros sabemos que el museo abre a las diez.
We know that the museum opens at ten.
Saber followed by que introduces factual information about a schedule.
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¿Sabes tocar la guitarra española?
Do you know how to play the Spanish guitar?
Saber directly before an infinitive expresses an acquired musical skill.
Read the full guide
Meeting and knowing people with personal a
The problem: English uses to know for both knowing a friend and knowing a phone number, leading learners to omit the required preposition before people.
When you are acquainted with a person, use the verb conocer. Because the direct object is a specific person, you must place the personal preposition a immediately before their name or description.
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Conozco a tu hermano mayor desde la escuela.
I know your older brother from school.
Why it works: Conocer expresses personal acquaintance, and personal a connects the verb to the brother.
-
Elena no conoce a los nuevos vecinos del barrio.
Elena does not know the new neighbors in the neighborhood.
Why it works: The verb expresses lack of personal acquaintance with specific people.
Your turn
Choose the correct sentence to say you know your coworker Carlos personally.
Answer: Conozco a mi compañero Carlos de la oficina.
Show the answer
Answer: Conozco a mi compañero Carlos de la oficina.
Conocer is required for personal acquaintance, and personal a must precede the specific person.
Recalling facts, dates, and specific data
The problem: Learners often try to use conocer with phone numbers or addresses because they feel familiar with them.
When you know an objective piece of information, such as an address, a phone number, an arrival time, or a password, use saber. This knowledge is recalled data rather than physical acquaintance.
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Yo sé el número de teléfono del médico.
I know the doctor's phone number.
Why it works: Saber indicates memorized or recalled factual data.
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Nosotros sabemos la dirección exacta de la tienda.
We know the exact address of the store.
Why it works: An address is a factual detail, requiring saber.
You can practise this again in Learn Spanish: Querer vs. Poder for Desires and Ability and Learn Spanish: De Acuerdo vs. Vale for Agreement and Acceptance.
Your turn
Choose the sentence that correctly states you know the start time of the meeting.
Answer: Sé la hora de la reunión de mañana.
Show the answer
Answer: Sé la hora de la reunión de mañana.
A scheduled time is a specific piece of factual data, so saber is the correct verb without personal a.
Familiarity with cities, streets, and places
The problem: Learners hesitate over whether visiting a city counts as knowing a fact or being familiar with a place.
Use conocer to say you are familiar with a city, park, museum, or avenue. Visiting a place is one common source of that familiarity, but the verb expresses familiarity with the location itself rather than just knowing a map coordinate.
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Mis padres conocen Madrid porque vivieron allí dos años.
My parents know Madrid because they lived there for two years.
Why it works: Conocer indicates firsthand familiarity with a city through personal experience.
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No conozco ese restaurante del centro histórico.
I am not familiar with that restaurant in the historic center.
Why it works: Conocer expresses familiarity with a physical venue or restaurant.
Your turn
Choose the best sentence to say you have visited and are familiar with the city of Valencia.
Answer: Conozco la hermosa ciudad de Valencia.
Show the answer
Answer: Conozco la hermosa ciudad de Valencia.
Conocer expresses familiarity with geographical places. Inanimate places do not take personal a.
Knowing how to do something with an infinitive
The problem: English requires know how to swim, tempting learners to translate how to literally as cómo.
To express knowing how to do an activity or possessing a learned physical or mental skill, Spanish commonly uses saber followed directly by an infinitive verb. You can also hear saber cómo before an action, but pairing saber directly with the infinitive is the standard everyday pattern.
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Mi prima sabe nadar muy bien en aguas abiertas.
My cousin knows how to swim very well in open water.
Why it works: Saber directly followed by an infinitive expresses an acquired skill.
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Nosotros no sabemos cocinar paella tradicional.
We do not know how to cook traditional paella.
Why it works: Saber plus infinitive states a lack of learned culinary technique.
Your turn
Choose the sentence that correctly states you know how to drive a car.
Answer: Sé conducir un coche por la ciudad.
Show the answer
Answer: Sé conducir un coche por la ciudad.
Saber followed directly by an infinitive expresses an acquired practical ability in natural Spanish.
Knowing information introduced by question words
The problem: Learners often use conocer when an indirect question clause refers to a person or location.
When you know information introduced by question words such as dónde, cuándo, quién, or qué, choose saber. The verb expresses that you know the factual detail itself, not that you are personally acquainted with the person or place mentioned in that detail.
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¿Sabes dónde vive la nueva profesora de música?
Do you know where the new music teacher lives?
Why it works: Saber is required because the object is an indirect location clause.
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Ella no sabe cuándo sale el próximo tren.
She does not know when the next train leaves.
Why it works: An indirect time question is factual information, requiring saber.
Your turn
Choose the sentence asking if someone knows who is cooking dinner tonight.
Answer: ¿Sabes quién prepara la cena hoy?
Show the answer
Answer: ¿Sabes quién prepara la cena hoy?
The clause introduced by quién represents factual information, which requires saber without personal a.
Acquaintance with books, music, and art
The problem: Learners assume that artistic titles are facts and choose saber instead of expressing cultural familiarity.
When discussing books, songs, films, or creative works, use conocer to indicate that you are familiar with the work itself. Use saber when you are stating factual information about the work, such as its author, title, or release date.
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¿Conoces esta novela de misterio del autor chileno?
Do you know this mystery novel by the Chilean author?
Why it works: Conocer asks about familiarity with the contents of a literary work.
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No conozco esa canción popular de los años ochenta.
I am not familiar with that popular song from the eighties.
Why it works: Conocer indicates listening familiarity with a piece of music.
Your turn
Choose the correct sentence to express that you are familiar with a classic Spanish film.
Answer: Conozco esa película clásica del cine español.
Show the answer
Answer: Conozco esa película clásica del cine español.
Familiarity with creative works takes conocer without personal a because the film is not a person.
Deciding between a person's identity and their contact details
The problem: Learners confuse knowing someone as a friend with knowing their identity, phone number, or job.
When someone mentions an individual, decide what kind of knowledge you need to share. Use conocer with personal a to state that you have met or know the person, but use saber when you share their phone number, email address, or office hours.
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Yo conozco al médico, pero no sé su apellido completo.
I know the doctor, but I do not know his complete last name.
Why it works: Conocer describes personal acquaintance; saber describes the missing factual detail.
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Ellos saben el nombre del arquitecto, pero no lo conocen en persona.
They know the architect's name, but they do not know him in person.
Why it works: Conocer with direct object pronoun lo expresses personal acquaintance with the individual.
Your turn
Choose the sentence that states you know the teacher personally but do not know her office phone number.
Answer: Conozco a la profesora, pero no sé su número de teléfono.
Show the answer
Answer: Conozco a la profesora, pero no sé su número de teléfono.
Conocer with personal a expresses acquaintance with the teacher, while saber expresses factual knowledge of the phone number.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose conocer for acquaintance with people, cities, and cultural works. Choose saber for recalled data, phone numbers, schedules, and skills followed by an infinitive.
Stage 2 of 5
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State in two Spanish sentences that you know a friend named Lucas and that you know his telephone number.
You could start with “Conozco a…”
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