"Savoir" and "connaitre" are a typical source of confusion among learners of French. Did you know that the difference between savoir and connaître has nothing to do with the meaning? I'll give you my best tips to get this right from now on ;-) This episode includes a practice worksheet, a tongue-twister to drive you crazy and extra vocabulary!

Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode

Do you know his address? = Tu connais/Vous connaissez son adresse?

Do you know where he lives? = Tu sais / Vous savez où il habite?

She doesn’t know why he didn’t call. = Elle ne sait pas pourquoi il n’a pas appelé.

I know Paris well, I lived there. = Je connais bien Paris, j’y ai habité.

Savoir and connaître : conjugation

SAVOIR

Indicative present: je sais, tu sais, il sait, nous savons, vous savez, ils savent.

Past participle : su (eg. : j’ai su)

Present participle, gérondif : sachant, en sachant

Imperative present : sache, sachons, sachez

Indicative futur simple : saur__ (eg. : je saurai)

CONNAÎTRE

Indicative present : je connais, tu connais, il connait, nous connaissons, vous connaissez, ils connaissent.

Past participle : connu

Tongue-twister

"Un chasseur sachant chasser sans son chien est un bon chasseur."

Song

"Je ne sais pas"  (Joyce Jonathan, 2010)

Extra French vocabulary

Une connaissance = an acquaintance ; a knowledge

Un connoisseur = a connoisseur, an expert

Le savoir = the knowledge (general notion)

Un savoir-faire = a skill, expertise, craft

Le savoir-vivre = the (good) manners

LINKS and RESOURCES

Savoir Connaitre Worksheet

7 common french tenses made easy recipes

Thank You for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose mine, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the side or bottom of this page.

Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally!

Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!