Savoir vs Connaître: Which French “To Know” Do You Need?
English gets by with one verb, know. French makes you pick between savoir and connaître, and using the wrong one is a quick giveaway that you learned French from a book rather than from French people. The rule is short, though, and it sticks.
The short version
- Savoir is for information and skills — facts you can state, and things you know how to do.
- Connaître is for people, places, and things you’re familiar with.
Quick test: if you can follow the verb with a fact (a whole clause) or with “how to,” you want savoir. If you’re talking about being acquainted with a noun — a person, a city, a song — you want connaître.
When to use savoir
- A fact: Je sais où il habite. (I know where he lives.)
- A skill, with an infinitive: Elle sait nager. (She knows how to swim.) Note there’s no word for “how” — savoir already carries it.
- Knowing that / if / why: Je sais que c’est vrai.
When to use connaître
- A person: Tu connais Marie ?
- A place: Je connais bien Paris.
- Something you’re familiar with: Il connaît cette chanson.
Connaître always needs a direct object. You can’t end a sentence on it — Je connais. on its own is incomplete.
Quick chart
| Savoir | Connaître |
|---|---|
| Facts — Je sais la réponse. | People — Je connais ton frère. |
| Know how to — Il sait conduire. | Places — Elle connaît Lyon. |
| That/if/why — Je sais pourquoi. | Works, songs, books — Tu connais ce film ? |
The overlap that trips people up
You never savoir a person. With people it’s always connaître. And you never connaître a plain fact — Je connais qu’il est là is wrong; it’s Je sais qu’il est là.
Both verbs are irregular in the present, so they’re worth memorizing: je sais, tu sais, il sait, nous savons, vous savez, ils savent — and je connais, tu connais, il connaît, nous connaissons, vous connaissez, ils connaissent.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between savoir and connaître?
Savoir is for facts and skills; connaître is for being familiar with a person, place, or thing. If a clause or “how to” follows, use savoir.
Do you use savoir or connaître for a person?
Connaître. Je connais Paul. Saying Je sais Paul is a mistake.
How do you say “I know how to” in French?
Use savoir plus an infinitive: Je sais nager (I know how to swim). Don’t add comment.
Is it “je sais” or “je connais”?
Depends on what follows. A fact or skill takes je sais; familiarity with a noun takes je connais.
Check your French before you send it
Paste your writing into corrector.co‘s free French checker to catch savoir/connaître mix-ups, accents, and agreement in seconds.
