What’s the difference between “sapere” and “conoscere”?
Although both “sapere” and “conoscere” translate to “to know” in English, in Italian they have distinct meanings and are rarely interchangeable. They refer to different types of knowledge. Conoscere means “to be familiar with” or “to be acquainted with” people, places, or things. Sapere means “to know information,” “to know how to do something,” or “to have knowledge of facts.” It refers to intellectual knowledge, skills, or information.
Let’s break them down in more detail…
Conoscere (to know, to be acquainted with)
Because conoscere means to be acquainted with something or someone: a topic, a person, a place, or a subject. It’s used with people, places or things and means having good knowledge of something or someone because you have previously experienced it.
If you are still not sure whether to use sapere or conoscere, try this: Conoscere is always followed by a noun. You will never see conoscere used with another verb or followed by “che”, “perché”, “cosa”, “quando”, “come” (which instead, is likely to happen with sapere).
Examples:
| Italian | English | Context/Type |
|---|---|---|
| Conosco la geografia italiana molto bene | I know Italian geography very well | Topic/Subject |
| Conosci Luciana? | Do you know Luciana? | Person |
| Conosci un buon ristorante a Roma? | Do you know a good restaurant in Roma? | Place |
| Conosciamo molto bene la città di Lucca | We know Lucca very well | Place |
| Conosci un buon dentista in città ? | Do you know a good dentist in town? | Place |
| Lucia conosce la grammatica molto bene | Lucia knows grammar very well | Topic/Subject |
Test Your Italian
Not sure what your Italian level is? I’ve created a free online Italian test to help you determine it.Sapere (to know information or how to do something)
The counterpart of “conoscere” is sapere. Sapere means to be aware of something. It means knowing a fact, an event, or a piece of information.
It’s usually used to ask for a piece of information or report it. That’s why sapere would often appear in conjunction with question words or conjunctions such as che / a che ora / quando / come / dove / se / perché.
Examples:
| Italian | English | Context/Type |
|---|---|---|
| Sai che Maria si è sposata? | Do you know that Maria got married? | Personal News |
| Sai che Marco ha avuto un bambino? | Do you know that Marco had a baby? | Personal News |
| Sai che ore sono? | Do you know what time it is? | Time |
| Sai quando parte il treno? | Do you know at what time the train is leaving? | Schedule/Time |
| Sapete dov’è Maria? | Do you (guys) know where Maria is? | Location |
| Non so come cucinare questo piatto? | I don’t know how to cook this dish | Cooking/Procedure |
Sapere = can (sapere vs. potere)
Sapere is also used as a modal verb when an infinitive verb accompanies it. In this case, it is used to say that you know how to do something, that you have an ability or a skill.
- So parlare molto bene italiano, ma non so cucinare. – I can speak Italian very well, but I can’t cook!
- Sai suonare la chitarra? – Can you play the guitar?
- Sai nuotare? – Can you swim?
As you can see from the examples, English uses the verb “can” in these types of sentences, which often leads native English speakers to use the verb “potere” when they translate into Italian. This is wrong. Saying puoi parlare has a different meaning from sai parlare.
Examples:
| Puoi parlare in Italiano? | Can you speak in Italian? | Request |
| Sai parlare italiano? | Do you speak Italian? | Inquiry |
| Puoi cucinare? | Can you cook? | Request |
| Sai cucinare? | Do you know how to cook? | Inquiry |
