Les 10 verbes les plus utilisés en français

What is the difference between “savoir” and “connaître”?

French splits “to know” in two. Savoir carries facts and skills — je sais où il habite, je sais nager. Connaître carries familiarity with a person, a place or a work — je connais Paris, je connais ta sœur. A rough test: if English could say “I know how to…” or “I know that…”, you usually want savoir; if what follows is simply a name or a thing, connaître.

Connaître almost always takes a direct object, so it does not sit in front of que or an infinitive: je sais qu’il vient, not je connais qu’il vient. In the past tense the pair shifts again — j’ai su leans towards “I found out,” and j’ai connu towards “I met” or “I got to know.”