savoir

French

Alternative forms

• sçavoir (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French saveir, savoir, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, in Classical Latin sapĕre "to taste", and "to know" in Late Latin, by influence of the adjective sapiēns (“wise”). The verb was for a long time spelled sçavoir from Middle French until the 18th century, by false regression to Classical Latin scīre "to know".

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /savwaʁ/

Verb

savoir

1. to know (something)

   Il est difficile de savoir si elle ment.

   It's difficult to know if she's lying

   Difficile à savoir (expression; confer 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 conditional)

   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 a cessé la résistance dans la bande de Gaza», a poursuivi M. Abbas.» – Le Devoir, 3 September 2010

Usage notes

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

Synonyms

• (to know): connaître, connaitre
• (to know how to): pouvoir

Related terms

• à savoir
• savant
• savoir-faire
• savoir-vivre

Conjugation

   Conjugation of savoir (see also Appendix:French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		savoir			avoir su
gerund		en sachant			en ayant su
present participle		sachant
past participle		su
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
simple tenses	present	sais	sais	sait	savons	savez	savent
	imperfect	savais	savais	savait	savions	saviez	savaient
	past historic1	sus	sus	sut	sûmes	sûtes	surent
	future	saurai	sauras	saura	saurons	saurez	sauront
	conditional	saurais	saurais	saurait	saurions	sauriez	sauraient
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 anterior1	Use the past historic 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 je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	sache	saches	sache	sachions	sachiez	sachent
	imperfect1	susse	susses	sût	sussions	sussiez	sussent
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	sache	—	sachons	sachez	—
1literary tenses

Noun

savoir m (plural savoirs)

1. knowledge

Anagrams

• avoirs

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Old French

Alternative forms

• saveir

Etymology

Latin sapere, present active infinitive of sapiō (“I taste”), later "I know".

Verb

savoir

1. to know
   • circa 1180,, Chrétien de Troyes, Lancelot ou le Chevalier de la charrette:

     Mes qui l’apele il ne le sot :
     Fantosme cuide que ce soit.

     Mais he did not know who was calling him
     He thought that it was a ghost

2. to be skilled in

   molt bien savoit le latin

   he was very skilled in Latin

Descendants

• French: savoir