📖LearnModule 6 · Lesson 7 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, first halfUnit 2 · Work, school and the future
Savoir ou connaître? — two ways to know
Module 6 of the free French course (CEFR B1, first half), lesson 7 of 30: English has one know; French has two. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 7.
The words
French
English
Say it
je sais nager
I know how to swim
zhuh seh nah-ZHAY
nager
to swim
nah-ZHAY
je connais Paris
I know Paris
zhuh koh-neh pah-REE
savoir
to know a fact or skill
sah-VWAHR
connaître
to know a person or place
koh-NEHTR
la réponse
the answer
lah ray-POH(n)S
par cœur
by heart
pahr KUHR
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
English has one know; French has two. Savoir is knowing a fact or a skill: je sais nager, je sais où il habite. Connaître is knowing a person or a place: je connais Marie, je connais Paris.
Et aussi · And also
The test: if you could learn it by heart or by practice, it is savoir. If you could be introduced to it, it is connaître.
Attention · Watch out
savoir + infinitive is knowing HOW: je sais nager. connaître never takes an infinitive: je connais Paris, je connais Marie.
savoir — the table
je sais · tu sais · il/elle sait · nous savons · vous savez · ils/elles savent
connaître — the table
je connais · tu connais · il/elle connaît · nous connaissons · vous connaissez · ils/elles connaissent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with je sais nager.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out savoir and connaître in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.