savoir

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French[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Old French savoir, saveir, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).

Comments

For centuries it was spelled sçavoir, with a silent ⟨ç⟩ inserted per a false etymology deriving the verb from Latin scīre (“know”).

The conjugations with /ʃ/ reflect a normal phonetic development. Latin sapiat > /ˈsapjat/ > */ˈsaptʃat/ > /ˈsatʃəθ/ > /ˈsaʃə/ > /saʃ/ ⟨sache⟩. Compare the evolution of approcher, hache, or seiche.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /sa.vwaʁ/
  • audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -waʁ

Verb[edit]

savoir

  1. to know (something)
    Savais-tu qu’il parle si bien l’anglais?
    Did you know that he speaks English so well?
    Comment savait-il que j’étais là?
    How did he know that I was there?
    Il est difficile de savoir si elle ment.
    It's difficult to know if she's lying.
    Il tire cette approche en inventant une situation initiale, dans laquelle on interrogerait les individus sur la forme qu’ils voudraient d’une société sans qu’ils sachent quelle place ils y auraient.
    He derives this approach by inventing an initial situation, in which individuals would be questioned about the form they would like from a society without them knowing what place they would have in it.
    Difficile à savoir (expression; compare Difficile à dire, voir, faire)
  2. to know how (to do something)
    Savez-vous nager?
    Do you know how to swim?
  3. to be able to, to be apt to (especially in the negative or interrogative conditional; used in the positive in Belgium)
    • 2021, Zaz, Tout là-haut:
      Si on s’en allait tout là-haut pour mieux s’imprégner des couleurs, saurions-nous faire taire notre égo ?
      If we went up there to better soak up the colours, would we be able to silence our ego?
    Il ne saurait tarder que...
    It cannot/will not be long before...
    • «Il ne saurait être considéré comme un acte de résistance puisque le Hamas a cessé la résistance dans la bande de Gaza», a poursuivi M. Abbas.
      "It cannot be considered an act of resistance, as Hamas has ceased the resistance in the Gaza strip", continued Mr. Abbas.
      (Le Devoir, 3 September 2010)
  4. to find out
    Nous devons savoir pourquoi il a fait ça.
    We have to find out why he did this.

Usage notes[edit]

  • To translate "know" in the sense "to be acquainted with", the verb connaître is used.

Conjugation[edit]

Conjugation of savoir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive simple savoir
compound avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1 simple sachant
/sa.ʃɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
past participle su
/sy/
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present sais
/sɛ/ 		sais
/sɛ/ 		sait
/sɛ/ 		savons
/sa.vɔ̃/ 		savez
/sa.ve/ 		savent
/sav/
imperfect savais
/sa.vɛ/ 		savais
/sa.vɛ/ 		savait
/sa.vɛ/ 		savions
/sa.vjɔ̃/ 		saviez
/sa.vje/ 		savaient
/sa.vɛ/
past historic2 sus
/sy/ 		sus
/sy/ 		sut
/sy/ 		sûmes
/sym/ 		sûtes
/syt/ 		surent
/syʁ/
future saurai
/sɔ.ʁe/ or /so.ʁe/ 		sauras
/sɔ.ʁa/ or /so.ʁa/ 		saura
/sɔ.ʁa/ or /so.ʁa/ 		saurons
/sɔ.ʁɔ̃/ or /so.ʁɔ̃/ 		saurez
/sɔ.ʁe/ or /so.ʁe/ 		sauront
/sɔ.ʁɔ̃/ or /so.ʁɔ̃/
conditional saurais
/sɔ.ʁɛ/ or /so.ʁɛ/ 		saurais
/sɔ.ʁɛ/ or /so.ʁɛ/ 		saurait
/sɔ.ʁɛ/ or /so.ʁɛ/ 		saurions
/sɔ.ʁjɔ̃/ or /so.ʁjɔ̃/ 		sauriez
/sɔ.ʁje/ or /so.ʁje/ 		sauraient
/sɔ.ʁɛ/ or /so.ʁɛ/
(compound
tenses) 		present perfect present indicative of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
past anterior2 past historic of avoir + past participle
future perfect future of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que je (j’) que tu qu’il, qu’elle que nous que vous qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple
tenses) 		present sache
/saʃ/ 		saches
/saʃ/ 		sache
/saʃ/ 		sachions
/sa.ʃjɔ̃/ 		sachiez
/sa.ʃje/ 		sachent
/saʃ/
imperfect2 susse
/sys/ 		susses
/sys/ 		sût
/sy/ 		sussions
/sy.sjɔ̃/ 		sussiez
/sy.sje/ 		sussent
/sys/
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — sache
/saʃ/ 		— sachons
/sa.ʃɔ̃/ 		sachez
/sa.ʃe/ 		—
compound — simple imperative of avoir + past participle — simple imperative of avoir + past participle simple imperative of avoir + past participle —
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
  • past historic → present perfect
  • past anterior → pluperfect
  • imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive
  • pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive

(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Saint Dominican Creole French: savé

Noun[edit]

savoir m (plural savoirs)

  1. knowledge

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Old French[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • saveir (archaic or northern)
  • savier (La Vie de Saint Léger, ca. 980)

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapere (“taste, know”).

Verb[edit]

savoir

  1. to know
  2. to be skilled in
    molt bien savoit le latin
    he was very skilled in Latin

Conjugation[edit]

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has a stressed present stem sev distinct from the unstressed stem sav, as well as other irregularities. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of savoir (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive savoir avoir seü
gerund en savant, sachant Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle
present participle savant, sachant
past participle seü
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses 		present sai ses set savons savez sevent
imperfect savoie, saveie savoies, saveies savoit, saveit saviiens, saviens saviiez, saviez savoient, saveient
preterite soi seüs sot seümes seüstes sorent
future savrai, sarai savras, saras savra, sara savrons, sarons savroiz, savreiz, savrez, saroiz, sareiz, sarez savront, saront
conditional savroie, savreie, saroie, sareie savroies, savreies, saroies, sareies savroit, savreit, saroit, sareit savriiens, savriens, sariiens, sariens savriiez, savriez, sariiez, sariez savroient, savreient, saroient, sareient
compound
tenses 		present perfect Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
past anterior Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle
future perfect Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
conditional perfect Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive que jo que tu qu’il que nos que vos qu’il
simple
tenses 		present sache saches sache sachiens, sachons sachiez sachent
imperfect seüsse seüsses seüst seüssons, seüssiens seüssoiz, seüssez, seüssiez seüssent
compound
tenses 		past Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
pluperfect Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative – tu – nos vos –
— sache — sachiens, sachons sachiez —

Noun[edit]

savoir oblique singular, m (oblique plural savoirs, nominative singular savoirs, nominative plural savoir)

  1. knowledge
  2. wisdom

Descendants[edit]

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