How Do You Use Kennen, Wissen and Knnen in German

There really are  three German verbs  that can be translated as to know in English! But German-speakers dont really have to worry about it, and you wont either after youve covered this lesson. The two main German verbs that mean to know are  kennen  and  wissen. A third verb,  kà ¶nnen, is a  modal verb  that usually means to be able or can — but in certain situations can also mean to know. (Learn more about modals in Part 3 of this lesson.) Here are three different know examples, with three different German verbs, that translate into English know sentences. Ich weiß Bescheid.I know about it.Wir kennen ihn nicht.We dont know him.Er kann Deutsch.He knows German. Each example above represents a different meaning of know. In fact, in many other languages (including French, German, Italian and Spanish), unlike English, there are usually two different verbs used to express English know. These other languages have one verb that means to know a person or to be acquainted with (a person or something), and another verb that means to know a fact or to know about something. The Differences Between Kennen, Wissen and Kà ¶nnen In German,  kennen  means to know, be familiar with and  wissen  means to know a fact, know when/how. German-speakers always know (wissen) when to use which one. If they are talking about knowing a person or being familar with something, they will use  kennen. If they are talking about knowing a fact or knowing when something will happen, theyll use  wissen. In most cases, German uses  kà ¶nnen  (can) to express the idea of knowing how to do something. Often such sentences can also be translated using can or is able to. The German  ich kann Franzà ¶sisch  equals I can (speak, write, read, understand) French or I know French.  Er kann schwimmen.   He knows how to swim. or He can swim. Knowing How to Say Know The Three German Know Verbs English Deutsch to know (someone) kennen to know (a fact) wissen to know (how) knnen Click on a verb to see its conjugation. Part Two  - Sample Sentences/Exercises