Saber vs. Conhecer

The verbs saberto know Slow audio Play audio Verb and conhecerto know Slow audio Play audio Verb cause a lot of confusion for Portuguese learners. If you translate them into English, both mean to know, but in Portuguese you also have to pay attention to the context in order to know 😉 which one to use.

Saber: Talking About Information You Know

We use saber to talk about facts or information that we know (or don’t know). This could be facts that you’ve learned from books, or just things that you’ve been told.

• 👩🏾‍🦱 Sabes quantos cães tem a Maria?Do you know how many dogs Maria has? – 👱🏻‍♀️ Eu não seiI don’t know
• A Maria sabe tudo sobre a vida da SofiaMaria knows everything about Sofia’s life
• Eu sei que ela virá amanhãI know that she will come tomorrow
• Sei a bíblia de corI know the bible by heart

Saber: Describing Your Abilities

Saber is also used to describe the things that we know how to do, as well as the things we don’t know how to do.

• Eu não sei como fazer um bolo de banana, mas quero aprenderI don’t know how to make a banana cake, but I want to learn
• Ela sabe cantar muito bemShe knows how to sing very well
• O João sabe falar italianoJoão knows how to speak Italian

Conhecer: Familiarity with a Person, Place, or Thing

If you want to say you know someone, use conhecer.

• Eu conheço a filha da AnaI know Ana’s daughter
• Conheces a mãe da Susana?Do you know Susana’s mother?

Similarly, if you want to get to know someone:

• Quero conhecer-vosI want to get to know you(pl.)

If you use conhecer to say you know a place, it means that you have been there / spent time there.

• O Mário conhece muito bem Paris. Ele morou lá muitos anos.Mario knows Paris very well. He lived there many years.
• Conhece a Itália?Do you know Italy?, i.e. Have you spent time there?

Conhecer is also used for showing familiarity with things:

• Eu conheço aquela cara, mas não sei de ondeI know that face, but I don’t know where from
• Nós conhecemos esse filmeWe know that movie, We are familiar with that movie

This last example could mean that they know of that movie and/or that they have seen it. It could it mean either one depending on the context.

Conhecer & Saber de

This brings us to our next point. What about if you want to say that you know of something? In this case, you can use either conhecer or saber de. This often comes up when we are asking for recommendations.
For example:

• Conheces algum dentista perto da minha casa?Do you know of any dentists near my house?
• Sabes de algum dentista perto da minha casa?Do you know of any dentists near my house?
• Eu conheço um restaurante fantástico ao fim desta ruaI know of a fantastic restaurant at the end of this street
• Eu sei de um restaurante fantástico ao fim desta ruaI know of a fantastic restaurant at the end of this street

Saber de is also used when you are looking for someone/something, almost as if you are saying to know about.
Imagine you are looking for your brother. You could say:

• Sabes do meu irmão?Do you(sing.,inf.) know about my brother?, Do you know where my brother is?

Or if you have lost your dog:

• Sabem do meu cão?Do you (pl.) know about my dog?, Do you know where my dog is?

Keep an eye (and ear) out for more examples! Now that you’re familiar with the distinction between saber vs conhecer, deciding when to use each one will become easier over time once you have more exposure to the language.