Kennen vs. Wissen? The Reply To Utilizing ‘To Know’ in German Lies Inside

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The German language excels at nuanced that means like how the verb “to know” may be certainly one of two German verbs: kennen vs. wissen. You’ll use them in totally completely different contexts and must be taught the variations to achieve success (although a local German will perceive what you imply in the event you make a mistake). Kennen pertains to having a well-recognized data about an individual or place, whereas wissen expresses data about particular data you discovered.

Figuring out when to make use of one over the opposite will assist your German sound extra pure and assist you to come throughout as extra skilled and formal to different German audio system. Discover out the principles behind kennen vs. wissen and learn how to use them in sentences right here.

Why are there two phrases for ‘to know’ in German?

There are two German phrases for “to know” (kennen and wissen) as a result of the language distinguishes between numerous forms of data extra exactly than English. This supplies your listener or reader with completely different contexts for what you imply by “understanding,” simply because the distinctive methods to say “What’s your identify?” in German or “welcome” in German convey distinct meanings.

Even English has completely different phrases for “listening to” vs. “listening,” although they’re each translated as hören (to listen to/hear) in German. Making comparisons corresponding to this between new languages and what you already know helps cut back how lengthy it takes to be taught German.

Understanding when to make use of kennen

So, when is it applicable to make use of kennen (to be acquainted)? In German, kennen is used if you wish to specific familiarity with an individual, place, or factor due to direct, private expertise. For instance, if an affiliate at work says “hiya” in German and introduces you to a brand new coworker whom you’ve already met, you may say, Ich kenne ihn (I do know him).

A simple trick to resolve in the event you ought to use kennen is that if the verb is adopted by a noun that’s within the accusative case in German. Since kennen requires familiarity with one thing bodily, it should at all times be adopted by a direct object. You possibly can see this within the sentence Ich kenne den Mann (I do know the person). Due to the verb kennen, the noun der Mann (the person) turns into the direct object, so you employ the accusative masculine article den (the, accusative).

You gained’t see this occur with wissen (to know) in German, making this a extra apparent manner to decide on one over the opposite in the event you’re not sure of which to decide on.

Conjugating kennen in frequent eventualities

To make use of kennen (to be acquainted with) in a sentence, German grammar calls for that it have to be conjugated to agree with the topic and tense of the sentence. The topic refers to no matter noun is performing the motion of the sentence, whereas the tense refers back to the “when” of your sentence.

You’ll discover that the desk beneath solely provides conjugations for kennen with reference to pronouns, however any German noun that doesn’t match with one of many pronouns beneath may be handled as if it have been er (he), sie (she), or es (it), which all conjugate verbs in the identical manner. For instance, in case your topic is das Supermarkt (the grocery store), your current tense conjugation of kennen would nonetheless be kennt.

Try this chart of conjugations for kennen inside the commonest German tenses you’re doubtless to make use of as you begin studying German.

To offer you extra context on these conjugations of kennen, listed here are a number of real-world sentence examples for every tense proven within the desk above:

• Kennst du meinen Bruder? = Do you know my brother? (current tense)
• Ich kannte ihn, als wir Kinder waren. = I have recognized him since we have been children. (easy previous)
• Sie hat den Movie schon einmal gekannt. = She has been acquainted with the movie. (current excellent)
• Ihr werdet seinen Freund bald kennen. = You all will quickly be acquainted together with his pal. (easy future)

Suggestions for when to make use of wissen

Wissen (to know) is your verb of alternative if you wish to present factual data of knowledge. This information is normally a results of learning or schooling, moderately than your private expertise with the subject. For instance, perhaps you may inform your grandma who’s baking a Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte (black forest cake) that you simply weiß (know) what number of eggs to place within the recipe due to your time in culinary college.

Since wissen refers to ideas or introduces a clause, you gained’t discover a noun round it apart from the topic with which it has to agree. For instance, within the sentence Ich weiß, dass er krank ist (I do know that he’s sick), the phrase weiß (know) introduces the dependent clause dass er krank ist. This, mixed with the absence of any direct objects, makes wissen the proper verb alternative for this context.

Wissen conjugation with sensible examples

Regardless of their variations in that means, the conjugation of wissen (to know) requires the identical course of because the conjugation of kennen (to be acquainted with). You merely must know the topic of the sentence and what German tense it’s in.

In case you’re new to the German alphabet, you is likely to be confused by the -ß image on the finish of some conjugations of wissen. Don’t fear, ß is just a German letter that represents two s’s making a sharper “sss” sound. It’s utilized in wissen to exchange the 2 s’s that may usually finish the phrase.

See the desk beneath to be taught the conjugations of wissen throughout the commonest tenses you’ll use.

Now see how wissen can be utilized in sensible German sentences:

• Sie wissen viel über Geschichte. = They know lots about historical past. (current tense)
• Er wusste die Antwort sofort. = He knew the reply instantly (easy previous)
• Wir haben es die ganze Zeit gewusst. = We have recognized the reply the entire time. (current excellent)
• Du wirst wissen, was zu tun ist. = You will know what to do. (easy future)

Deciding when to make use of modal verbs with kennen vs. wissen

Whenever you resolve to spice your sentence up with modal verbs in German if you use kennen vs. wissen, you don’t have to fret about conjugating. It is because each verbs will at all times seem of their infinitive spelling when paired with modal verbs, that means they present up as kennen and wissen moderately than every other conjugation.

Listed here are some sentence examples exhibiting infinitive spelling in German sentences with modal verbs:

• Darf ich den Autor schon kennen? = Could I know the creator already?
• Er kann sie nicht kennen. = He can not know her.
• Wir müssen das wissen. = We should know that.
• Du solltest wissen, wie das funktioniert. = You ought to know how this works.

Typically, kennen (to be acquainted with) pairs finest with completely different modal verbs than wissen (to know) does. Kennen suits finest with wollen (to need) and dürfen (to be allowed, might) to precise intention or permission relating to familiarity. In the meantime, you’ll sometimes discover wissen in sentences with sollen (ought to) and müssen (should), although any modal verb can be utilized with both verb given sufficient creativity.

Ceaselessly requested questions on utilizing kennen vs. wissen

It’s straightforward to combine up wissen vs. kennen as an English speaker, so that you is likely to be searching for somewhat extra recommendation. Listed here are solutions to the three most steadily requested questions on the usage of kennen vs. wissen in German:

Is kennenlernen the identical as kennen?

Kennenlernen (to get to know) is a separable verb in German that makes use of kennen (to be acquainted with) as a prefix. Very like the way you’d use kennen to precise that you simply’ve personally met somebody, for instance, kennenlernen is a verb you employ if you’re attending to know somebody or one thing personally. Think about studying extra a few potential love curiosity throughout a date—that’s kennenlernen.

Is there a distinction between Ich weiß das and Ich weiß es?

Sure, there’s a delicate distinction between saying Ich weiß das (I do know that) and Ich weiß es (I do know it). In case you are referring to a recognized object or reply, then you definately would say Ich weiß es. For instance, in case your pal requested in the event you knew the reply to a quiz query, you may reply with Ich weiß es since you already know a particular reply that was talked about.

However, Ich weiß das is used to reference a whole concept or assertion. So, when your aunt tells you she has a birthday arising subsequent week, you may present that you simply already knew this concept to be true with Ich weiß das.

What’s the distinction between Kenntnisse vs. Wissen on a résumé?

On a résumé, you may consider Kenntnisse to imply “working data,” whereas Wissen refers to “theoretical/tutorial data.” On this manner, the noun Kenntnisse is just like the verb kennen (to be acquainted with) in that they each relate to issues discovered from direct expertise. 

In the meantime, the capitalized noun Wissen displays the usage of the verb wissen (to know) in that it reveals what factual or theoretical data you could have helpful from learning or schooling. Kenntnisse is most frequently seen in headings on a résumé or CV, whereas Wissen sometimes seems in description sections.