Savoir or Connaître: What Is the Difference?

Reading time: 8 minutes

🇫🇷 In short : “Je sais Paris” or “je connais Paris”? “Je connais parler français” or “je sais parler français”? Here is how to choose between savoir and connaître.

This difficulty is very common among French learners because the rule seems simple at first… then exceptions and natural usage appear in conversations.

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In the books Objectif : Parler Français, grammar is not presented as an isolated rule. It is linked to a real communication situation, with dialogues, audio, shadowing and speaking practice.

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The simple rule

Use savoir with information, a clause or an infinitive verb.

Use connaître with a person, place, topic or thing you know through experience.

Verb	Use	Example
savoir	information / verb	Je sais parler français.
connaître	person / place / topic	Je connais Paris.

Savoir + verb

Je sais conduire.
Elle sait parler espagnol.
Tu sais utiliser ce logiciel ?

Savoir + information

Je sais que tu as raison.
Je ne sais pas où il habite.
Tu sais pourquoi elle est partie ?

Connaître + noun

Je connais Manon.
Je connais bien Lyon.
Tu connais cette expression ?

Common mistake

Do not say: ~~Je connais parler français~~. Say: Je sais parler français.

Do not say: ~~Je sais Paris~~. Say: Je connais Paris.

Key takeaway

The right question is not only: “What is the rule?” The right question is: “In what situation do I want to use this sentence?” This is how grammar becomes useful for speaking.

Do you want to speak French with more confidence?

In Objectif : Parler Français, you practise grammar in concrete situations, so you can move from “I know the rule” to “I can use it when speaking”.

See the Objectif : Parler Français books