Kennen or wissen? Two ways to say “know”.

Present forms side by side

The singular present forms of wissen have ei: weiß, weißt, weiß. The plural forms have i: wissen, wisst, wissen.

Useful past forms

Kennen: be familiar with someone or something

Kennen commonly takes a noun or pronoun in the accusative. You may know a colleague, a city, a film or a useful restaurant. The point is familiarity, not knowing a fact about that person or place.

• Ich kenne deine Kollegin.

  I know your colleague.

• Kennst du diesen Film?

  Do you know this film?

• Wir kennen uns seit der Schule.

  We have known each other since school.

• Ich kenne ein ruhiges Café in der Nähe.

  I know a quiet café nearby.

Wissen: know information

Wissen often takes a clause beginning with dass, ob or a question word such as wo, wann or warum. In these dependent clauses, the finite verb goes at the end.

It can also take a short object such as das or es, or a noun such as die Antwort. The shortcut “kennen always before a noun, wissen always before a clause” is therefore too strict.

• Ich weiß, wo der Bahnhof ist.

  I know where the station is.

• Weißt du, ob der Laden offen ist?

  Do you know whether the shop is open?

• Sie weiß, dass wir morgen kommen.

  She knows that we are coming tomorrow.

• Das weiß ich nicht.

  I do not know that.

Some contexts allow both

You can say die Antwort kennen or die Antwort wissen. The familiar-object versus information distinction helps with many examples, but it cannot make every English “know” sentence into a one-answer test.

Compare knowing a person with knowing where that person lives: Ich kenne sie and Ich weiß, wo sie wohnt. In practice, learn a small complete sentence with each verb.

• Kennst du die Antwort?

  Do you know the answer?

• Weißt du die Antwort?

  Do you know the answer?

  Both formulations are possible. Our practice avoids using this as a forced contrast.

For an ability, consider können

English “know how to” often describes an ability. German commonly uses können for that meaning. Wissen, wie … works when the focus is knowing a method or procedure.

Kennenlernen means to get to know or meet someone; it is not simply another tense of kennen.

• Ich kann schwimmen.

  I can swim / I know how to swim.

• Ich weiß, wie das Gerät funktioniert.

  I know how the device works.

• Ich möchte deine Freunde kennenlernen.

  I would like to meet your friends.