Today’s Spanish word of the day is “conocer”.
It’s a verb meaning “to know”.
It comes from Latin cognoscere (“to know”), which is also the root of several English words such as “cognition”, “cognizance” and “recognize”.
“Conocer” is an irregular verb conjugated with the same pattern as a few other -er verbs including “agradecer” (to thank) and “nacer” (to be born). Here’s the conjugation in the present tense:
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes conocen – They know, You know (plural)
- Yo conozco – I know
- Tú conoces – You know (informal singular)
- Él/Ella/Usted conoce – He/She knows, You know (formal singular)
- Nosotros/Nosotras conocemos – We know
- Vosotros/Vosotras conocéis – You know (informal plural, only used in Spain)
Example sentences
¿Conoces algún buen restaurante por aquí?
Do you know any good restaurants around here?
Fue un placer conocer a tus padres.
It was a pleasure to meet your parents.
¿Conoces a mi hermana?
Do you know my sister?
Ellos se conocieron en la universidad.
They met each other at university.
Aún no conozco bien la ciudad.
I don’t know the city well yet.
Conocer vs. saber
Spanish has two verbs that translate as “to know”: “conocer” and “saber”. They are used in different contexts.
“Conocer” is used to refer to knowing in the sense of knowing a person or being familiar with something or somewhere.
“Saber” is used to refer to knowing facts or learned skills.
Compare the following:
Conocer
- Conozco a tu hermano. – I know your brother.
- No conocemos esa ciudad. – We are not familiar with that city.
Saber
- ¿Sabes hablar español? – Do you know how to speak Spanish?
- No sabemos dónde está. – We don’t know where it is.
