When do you use saber versus conocer in Spanish?

Question

This question can confuse many Spanish learners because both of these verbs translate as "to know." These two verbs cannot be used interchangeably, however! They correspond with specific situations that may not register as differentiable for English speakers.

This is one of the many reasons that language-learning fascinates me: differentiating between saber and conocer results in a different understanding of knowledge than in English, where we only use "to know"!

Answer 1

I remember when I was first learning Spanish in high school that concept was confusing. This confusion really stems from the fact that in English both the functions of saber and conocer are combined into one word which is "know". In Spanish there is a difference between knowing something is fact, and knowing a person. for example

Saber is used for express factual information

I know that Francisco Franco was a Spanish dictator

Yo se que Francisco Franco era un dictador de Espana

Conocer is used to express familiarity with a person place or thing.

Do you know my mother?

Conoces a mi mama?

So in summary if you are talking about being familiar with a person place or thing you should use conocer. If you are stating a fact, use saber!

Answer 2

I use the following mnemonic: saber is for facts and conocer is for familiarity. This is handy because there's alliteration and the shorter word in English corresponds with the shorter verb in Spanish.

Saber refers to facts that someone knows unambiguously. For example, "I know that 2 + 2 = 4," "you know that the Earth orbits the sun," etc. Even when you're incorrect but convinced about a fact (ex. "I know that the sun orbits the Earth"), the statement is a fact in the speaker's mind. These situations all use saber. Saber also corresponds with skills and languages.

Conocer goes with familiarity. This verb also translates as "I know," but I prefer to translate it as "I know of." You use this verb with people, places, things, and situations with whom/which you are familiar. For example, "I know her," "they know the city well," etc. Fun fact: conocer used in the preterite tense can take on the meaning "to meet." For example, "I met them yesterday" can translate into "Ayer, conocí a ellos."

Answer 3

Saber: relative to knowledge about a topic, situation, position of things.

1. Juan y Pedro ustedes saben de ciencias? No, nosotros no sabemos.
2. Juan, tu sabes donde está tu libro?. Si, yo sé.

Conocer: People and places.

1. Juan, conoces al Doctor López? Si, lo conozco.
2. Juan y Pedro, ustedes conocen Miami? No, nosotros no lo conocemos.

Si quieren saber mas sobre la conjugación de estos verbos , me cuentan.