Savoir Conjugation: All Tenses of the French Verb “savoir”
Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed August 2026
Savoir means “to know” — a fact, a piece of information, or how to do something. It is one of two French verbs that cover English “know,” the other being connaître.
Savoir is for knowledge you could state or demonstrate: je sais qu'il est parti, je sais nager, tu sais son numéro. It is also the hedge in half the sentences a beginner needs — je ne sais pas, tu sais où c'est, on ne sait jamais. Its past participle is worth a second look, because in the passé composé savoir usually means found out rather than knew: j'ai su la vérité means I found out the truth.
Savoir is irregular in the present, where the stem shrinks to sai- in the singular (je sais, tu sais, il sait) and comes back as sav- in the plural (nous savons, vous savez, ils savent). The imparfait is built on sav- throughout (je savais), while the future and conditional use the stem saur- (je saurai, je saurais). The subjunctive does not resemble the present at all: que je sache, que nous sachions. The participe présent is sachant, and the imperative uses the same shape — sache, sachons, sachez — which is why a French notice can begin sachez que, roughly “be aware that.”
Savoir takes avoir: j'ai su. In the compound tenses the meaning shifts from a state to an event, so j'ai su reports the moment the information reached you, and je savais describes knowing it already.
Savoir in context
Présent
Je ne sais pas où j'ai mis mes clés. I don't know where I put my keys.
Imparfait
Nous ne savions pas que le magasin fermait à midi. We didn't know the shop closed at midday.
Passé composé
Elle a su la nouvelle avant tout le monde. She heard the news before anyone else.
Futur simple
Tu sauras demain si ta demande est acceptée. You'll know tomorrow whether your application is accepted.
Subjonctif présent
Il faut que vous sachiez conduire pour ce poste. You need to know how to drive for this job.
Common mistakes with savoir
Using savoir for people and places
✗ Je sais Paris.
✓ Je connais Paris. — I know Paris.
Savoir takes facts, clauses and infinitives: je sais qu'il pleut, je sais nager. Being acquainted with a person, a city or a book is connaître. If you can rephrase the English as “I am familiar with,” you need connaître.
Adding comment before an infinitive
✗ Je sais comment nager.
✓ Je sais nager. — I know how to swim.
Savoir followed directly by an infinitive already means “to know how to.” The word comment is only needed when you really mean the method: je sais comment il a réussi, I know how he managed it.
Writing the indicative after il faut que
✗ Il faut que tu sais la vérité.
✓ Il faut que tu saches la vérité. — You need to know the truth.
Il faut que triggers the subjunctive, and savoir's subjunctive is built on a stem that appears nowhere in the present indicative: que je sache, que tu saches, qu'il sache. Because the two are not homophones here, the error is audible as well as visible.
Expressions with savoir
je n'en sais rien
I have no idea
sans le savoir
without knowing it
pas que je sache
not that I know of
faire savoir
to let someone know
on ne sait jamais
you never know
à savoir
namely
Frequently asked questions
Is savoir a regular verb?
No. Savoir is irregular in almost every tense that matters: the present alternates between sai- and sav- (je sais, nous savons), the future uses saur- (je saurai), and the subjunctive is sache. Only the imparfait behaves predictably, since it is built on the nous stem the way almost every French verb is.
What is the past participle of savoir?
The past participle is su, so the passé composé is j'ai su. Watch the meaning: because savoir describes a state, putting it in the passé composé usually turns it into an event, so j'ai su means I found out rather than I knew. For knowing something over a stretch of time, use the imparfait: je savais.
What is the difference between savoir and connaître?
Savoir is for information and skills: je sais son nom, je sais qu'il est parti, je sais cuisiner. Connaître is for acquaintance and needs a direct object noun: je connais son frère, je connais ce quartier. Connaître cannot introduce a clause, so “I know that he left” is only ever je sais qu'il est parti.
What is the imperative of savoir?
It is sache, sachons, sachez, taken from the subjunctive stem rather than the present. In practice it means “be aware” rather than an order to know something: sachez que le bureau ferme à 17h, sache que je ne suis pas d'accord. It has a formal, slightly official ring.
How do you pronounce je sais, il sait and ils savent?
Je sais and il sait sound identical, both ending in a short è sound with the final s or t silent. Nous savons and vous savez pronounce the v, and ils savent ends in the silent -ent, so it comes out as two syllables, sav. The infinitive savoir has the same vwar ending as voir and avoir.