What's the difference between savoir and connaître?

Savoir is knowing information — a fact, an answer, or a skill: je sais qu'il vient, je sais nager. Connaître is being acquainted with something concrete: je connais ta sœur, je connais Lyon. Connaître always needs a noun after it.

Which verb do I use with a person?

Connaître if you've met them: je connais ton frère. Savoir if you're only identifying them: je sais qui est ton frère. The two sentences say quite different things, and both can be true at once.

How do you say I can swim in French?

Je sais nager. Savoir is used for abilities you've learned, so it covers swimming, driving, cooking, and reading. Pouvoir would mean you're in a position to swim right now, which is a separate question.

Why does j'ai su mean I found out?

Because the passé composé marks a completed event, and for a state verb that event is the moment the state began. J'ai su means the knowledge arrived; je savais describes the state of already having it. J'ai connu works the same way and means I met.

Does connaître keep its circumflex?

Traditionally the circumflex appears only before a t: il connaît, but nous connaissons and je connais. The 1990 spelling reform allows il connait without it, and both versions are accepted, so pick one and stay consistent.

French grammar · Intermediate

Savoir vs. Connaître: Two French Verbs for 'To Know'

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Savoir is knowing information: a fact, an answer, or how to do something. Connaître is being acquainted with a person, a place, or a subject. The clearest structural test is that connaître always needs a noun after it and can never introduce a clause.

Je connais Paris, mais je ne sais pas où se trouve cette rue.

I know Paris, but I don't know where that street is.

What it is

English uses know for two unrelated ideas: holding a piece of information, and being familiar with something. French keeps them apart. Savoir carries information; connaître carries familiarity, and it needs something concrete to be familiar with.

Je sais qu'elle est architecte. Je connais son travail. — I know she's an architect. I'm familiar with her work.

How to spot it

Look at what follows the verb. A clause, an infinitive, or a question word means savoir. A plain noun with nothing after it usually means connaître.

Je sais qu'il a raison. — I know he's right. (a clause)
Elle sait nager. — She can swim. (an infinitive)
Je connais ce quartier. — I know this area. (a place)
Tu connais mon frère ? — Do you know my brother? (a person)

A person can follow either verb, but with different meanings: je connais Marie means I've met her, while je sais qui est Marie means I know who she is without necessarily having met her.

Savoir vs. Connaître Quick Reference

What each verb accepts after it

Verb	Followed by	Meaning	Example
savoir	que + clause	to know a fact	Je sais qu'il est parti. — I know he's left.
savoir	an infinitive	to know how to	Elle sait conduire. — She can drive.
savoir	a question word	to know the answer	Tu sais où il habite ? — Do you know where he lives?
savoir	si + clause	to know whether	Je ne sais pas s'il viendra. — I don't know if he'll come.
savoir	le, tout, rien	to know it	Je le sais. — I know.
connaître	a person	to be acquainted with	Je connais tes parents. — I know your parents.
connaître	a place	to be familiar with	Il connaît bien Lyon. — He knows Lyon well.
connaître	a subject or work	to be versed in	Elle connaît le droit fiscal. — She knows tax law.

Common Savoir vs. Connaître Examples in French

The two verbs across the situations where each one belongs:

Savoir: Facts and Answers

Je sais que tu as raison.: I know you're right.
Tu sais quelle heure il est ?: Do you know what time it is?
Personne ne sait pourquoi.: Nobody knows why.
Je ne sais pas s'il est déjà rentré.: I don't know whether he's home yet.

Any time the thing known could be written down as a statement, savoir is the verb.

Savoir: Knowing How

Il sait jouer du piano.: He can play the piano.
Est-ce que tu sais nager ?: Can you swim?
Elle sait écouter.: She's a good listener.
Je ne sais pas dire non.: I can't say no.

This is learned ability. Pouvoir would mean the circumstances allow it, which is a different claim.

Connaître: People and Places

Je connais ta sœur depuis l'école.: I've known your sister since school.
Vous connaissez ce restaurant ?: Do you know this restaurant?
Il connaît la région comme sa poche.: He knows the area like the back of his hand.
On s'est connus à Toulouse.: We met in Toulouse.

Connaître implies direct exposure. You can't connaître somewhere you've only read about.

Connaître: Fields and Works

Elle connaît bien la peinture flamande.: She knows Flemish painting well.
Je connais cette chanson par cœur.: I know that song by heart.
Il connaît son métier.: He knows his trade.
Ce mot, je ne le connais pas.: That word, I don't know it.

Bodies of knowledge take connaître because you're familiar with them as a whole, not holding one fact about them.

The Rules That Separate Them

One structural rule settles most cases outright, and the rest are about nuance.

Connaître Always Needs a Direct Object

Connaître cannot stand alone and cannot introduce a clause. If there's no noun or pronoun for it to take, the verb you want is savoir. This single rule resolves the majority of hesitations.

Je connais la réponse, mais je ne sais pas comment l'expliquer.

I know the answer, but I don't know how to explain it.

No noun after it → savoir.

Savoir Introduces Information

Que, si, où, quand, pourquoi, comment, combien, and qui all follow savoir. The verb is holding a piece of information rather than being acquainted with a thing.

Sais-tu quand ils arrivent ?

Do you know when they're arriving?

Question word next → savoir.

Savoir Plus Infinitive Is Learned Skill

Where English uses can for both ability and permission, French splits them. Savoir is the skill you acquired; pouvoir is whether the situation allows it right now.

Je sais nager, mais je ne peux pas aujourd'hui.

I can swim, but I can't today.

savoir = trained. pouvoir = allowed.

A Person Can Follow Either Verb

Connaître quelqu'un means you've met them. Savoir qui est quelqu'un means you can identify them. The second doesn't imply any acquaintance at all.

Je sais qui c'est, mais je ne le connais pas.

I know who he is, but I don't know him.

Met them → connaître.

Both Are Irregular, in Different Ways

Savoir has a short, unpredictable present (je sais, nous savons) and a past participle su. Connaître doubles its s in the plural (nous connaissons) and gives connu. Its circumflex appears only before a t: il connaît.

Nous savons peu, mais nous connaissons bien la ville.

We know little, but we know the city well.

su and connu.

Common Mistakes with Savoir vs. Connaître

Incorrect: Je connais que tu as raison. — I know you're right.

Correct: Je sais que tu as raison. — I know you're right.

Connaître can't take a clause. Anything introduced by que, si, or a question word belongs to savoir.

Incorrect: Je sais ton frère. — I know your brother.

Correct: Je connais ton frère. — I know your brother.

Being acquainted with a person is connaître. Savoir with a person only works inside a clause: je sais qui est ton frère.

Incorrect: Il connaît nager. — He can swim.

Correct: Il sait nager. — He can swim.

An infinitive after know is always savoir. Connaître can only be followed by a noun or a pronoun standing for one.

Incorrect: Je ne sais pas cette ville. — I don't know this city.

Correct: Je ne connais pas cette ville. — I don't know this city.

A place is something you're familiar with rather than a fact you hold, so it takes connaître. Savoir would need a clause: je ne sais pas où c'est.

Where the Tenses Change the Meaning

Both verbs describe states, so putting them in a completed past tense turns them into events.

Passé composé against imparfait

In the imperfect these verbs mean what you'd expect. In the passé composé they mark the moment the knowledge began, which changes the English translation entirely.

Je savais qu'il mentait.: I knew he was lying.
J'ai su qu'il mentait.: I found out he was lying.
Je connaissais bien ce quartier.: I knew that area well.
J'ai connu ma femme à Lille.: I met my wife in Lille.

This shift is regular across French state verbs: pouvoir, vouloir, and devoir behave the same way.

Savoir against pouvoir for can

Savoir covers abilities you learned once and keep. Pouvoir covers whether you're free, able, or permitted at this moment.

Elle sait faire du vélo.: She can ride a bike.
Elle ne peut pas faire de vélo, elle s'est blessée.: She can't cycle, she's hurt herself.
Je ne saurais vous dire.: I couldn't tell you. (a polite hedge)

Je ne saurais plus an infinitive is a formal, softened refusal, and it uses the conditional without pas.

Set phrases

Both verbs anchor fixed expressions where the choice is settled by usage rather than logic.

Je n'en sais rien.: I've no idea.
Va savoir !: Who knows!
connaître par cœur: to know by heart
s'y connaître en informatique: to know one's way around computers

S'y connaître en means to be an expert in something, and it's much more common in speech than être expert en.

Savoir vs. Connaître FAQs

What's the difference between savoir and connaître?: Savoir is knowing information — a fact, an answer, or a skill: je sais qu'il vient, je sais nager. Connaître is being acquainted with something concrete: je connais ta sœur, je connais Lyon. Connaître always needs a noun after it.
Which verb do I use with a person?: Connaître if you've met them: je connais ton frère. Savoir if you're only identifying them: je sais qui est ton frère. The two sentences say quite different things, and both can be true at once.
How do you say I can swim in French?: Je sais nager. Savoir is used for abilities you've learned, so it covers swimming, driving, cooking, and reading. Pouvoir would mean you're in a position to swim right now, which is a separate question.
Why does j'ai su mean I found out?: Because the passé composé marks a completed event, and for a state verb that event is the moment the state began. J'ai su means the knowledge arrived; je savais describes the state of already having it. J'ai connu works the same way and means I met.
Does connaître keep its circumflex?: Traditionally the circumflex appears only before a t: il connaît, but nous connaissons and je connais. The 1990 spelling reform allows il connait without it, and both versions are accepted, so pick one and stay consistent.