What does saber mean in English?

Saber means "to know (facts)" in English.

How do you conjugate saber in Spanish?

Saber is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with saber?

Common idiomatic expressions using saber include: "saber a" (to taste like), "¿sabes qué?" (you know what?), "no saber ni jota" (to not know a thing). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using saber?

Saber is irregular in several tenses with stem changes

How do you use saber in a sentence?

Example: "Sé hablar español." which means "I know how to speak Spanish." in English.

What are synonyms for saber?

Spanish synonyms for saber include: conocer, entender, comprender. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Saber

to know (facts)

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

saber

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

sabiendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

sabido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sé I know (facts)	I know (facts)
tú	sabes you know (facts)	you know (facts)
él/ella/usted	sabe he/she/you know (facts)s	he/she/you know (facts)s
nosotros	sabemos we know (facts)	we know (facts)
vosotros	sabéis you all know (facts)	you all know (facts)
ellos/ustedes	saben they/you all know (facts)	they/you all know (facts)

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sabía I used to know (facts)	I used to know (facts)
tú	sabías you used to know (facts)	you used to know (facts)
él/ella/usted	sabía he/she/you used to know (facts)	he/she/you used to know (facts)
nosotros	sabíamos we used to know (facts)	we used to know (facts)
vosotros	sabíais you all used to know (facts)	you all used to know (facts)
ellos/ustedes	sabían they/you all used to know (facts)	they/you all used to know (facts)

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	supe I know (facts)ed	I know (facts)ed
tú	supiste you know (facts)ed	you know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	supo he/she/you know (facts)ed	he/she/you know (facts)ed
nosotros	supimos we know (facts)ed	we know (facts)ed
vosotros	supisteis you all know (facts)ed	you all know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	supieron they/you all know (facts)ed	they/you all know (facts)ed

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sabré I will know (facts)	I will know (facts)
tú	sabrás you will know (facts)	you will know (facts)
él/ella/usted	sabrá he/she/you will know (facts)	he/she/you will know (facts)
nosotros	sabremos we will know (facts)	we will know (facts)
vosotros	sabréis you all will know (facts)	you all will know (facts)
ellos/ustedes	sabrán they/you all will know (facts)	they/you all will know (facts)

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sabría I would know (facts)	I would know (facts)
tú	sabrías you would know (facts)	you would know (facts)
él/ella/usted	sabría he/she/you would know (facts)	he/she/you would know (facts)
nosotros	sabríamos we would know (facts)	we would know (facts)
vosotros	sabríais you all would know (facts)	you all would know (facts)
ellos/ustedes	sabrían they/you all would know (facts)	they/you all would know (facts)

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	sepa that I know (facts)	that I know (facts)
tú	sepas that you know (facts)	that you know (facts)
él/ella/usted	sepa that he/she/you know (facts)	that he/she/you know (facts)
nosotros	sepamos that we know (facts)	that we know (facts)
vosotros	sepáis that you all know (facts)	that you all know (facts)
ellos/ustedes	sepan that they/you all know (facts)	that they/you all know (facts)

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	supiera or supiese that I know (facts)ed	that I know (facts)ed
tú	supieras or supieses that you know (facts)ed	that you know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	supiera or supiese that he/she/you know (facts)ed	that he/she/you know (facts)ed
nosotros	supiéramos or supiésemos that we know (facts)ed	that we know (facts)ed
vosotros	supierais or supieseis that you all know (facts)ed	that you all know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	supieran or supiesen that they/you all know (facts)ed	that they/you all know (facts)ed

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he sabido I have know (facts)ed	I have know (facts)ed
tú	has sabido you have know (facts)ed	you have know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	ha sabido he/she/you have know (facts)ed	he/she/you have know (facts)ed
nosotros	hemos sabido we have know (facts)ed	we have know (facts)ed
vosotros	habéis sabido you all have know (facts)ed	you all have know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	han sabido they/you all have know (facts)ed	they/you all have know (facts)ed

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había sabido I had know (facts)ed	I had know (facts)ed
tú	habías sabido you had know (facts)ed	you had know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	había sabido he/she/you had know (facts)ed	he/she/you had know (facts)ed
nosotros	habíamos sabido we had know (facts)ed	we had know (facts)ed
vosotros	habíais sabido you all had know (facts)ed	you all had know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	habían sabido they/you all had know (facts)ed	they/you all had know (facts)ed

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube sabido I had know (facts)ed	I had know (facts)ed
tú	hubiste sabido you had know (facts)ed	you had know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	hubo sabido he/she/you had know (facts)ed	he/she/you had know (facts)ed
nosotros	hubimos sabido we had know (facts)ed	we had know (facts)ed
vosotros	hubisteis sabido you all had know (facts)ed	you all had know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	hubieron sabido they/you all had know (facts)ed	they/you all had know (facts)ed

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré sabido I will have know (facts)ed	I will have know (facts)ed
tú	habrás sabido you will have know (facts)ed	you will have know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	habrá sabido he/she/you will have know (facts)ed	he/she/you will have know (facts)ed
nosotros	habremos sabido we will have know (facts)ed	we will have know (facts)ed
vosotros	habréis sabido you all will have know (facts)ed	you all will have know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	habrán sabido they/you all will have know (facts)ed	they/you all will have know (facts)ed

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría sabido I would have know (facts)ed	I would have know (facts)ed
tú	habrías sabido you would have know (facts)ed	you would have know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	habría sabido he/she/you would have know (facts)ed	he/she/you would have know (facts)ed
nosotros	habríamos sabido we would have know (facts)ed	we would have know (facts)ed
vosotros	habríais sabido you all would have know (facts)ed	you all would have know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	habrían sabido they/you all would have know (facts)ed	they/you all would have know (facts)ed

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya sabido that I have know (facts)ed	that I have know (facts)ed
tú	hayas sabido that you have know (facts)ed	that you have know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	haya sabido that he/she/you have know (facts)ed	that he/she/you have know (facts)ed
nosotros	hayamos sabido that we have know (facts)ed	that we have know (facts)ed
vosotros	hayáis sabido that you all have know (facts)ed	that you all have know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	hayan sabido that they/you all have know (facts)ed	that they/you all have know (facts)ed

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera sabido that I had know (facts)ed	that I had know (facts)ed
tú	hubieras sabido that you had know (facts)ed	that you had know (facts)ed
él/ella/usted	hubiera sabido that he/she/you had know (facts)ed	that he/she/you had know (facts)ed
nosotros	hubiéramos sabido that we had know (facts)ed	that we had know (facts)ed
vosotros	hubierais sabido that you all had know (facts)ed	that you all had know (facts)ed
ellos/ustedes	hubieran sabido that they/you all had know (facts)ed	that they/you all had know (facts)ed

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	sabe	know (facts)! (you)
usted	sepa	know (facts)! (you formal)
nosotros	sepamos	let's know (facts)!
vosotros	sabed	know (facts)! (you all)
ustedes	sepan	know (facts)! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no sepas	don't know (facts)! (you)
usted	no sepa	don't know (facts)! (you formal)
nosotros	no sepamos	let's not know (facts)!
vosotros	no sepáis	don't know (facts)! (you all)
ustedes	no sepan	don't know (facts)! (you all)

More About "saber"

Idiomatic Expressions

saber a

to taste like

💡 Describing the flavor of food or drink

¿sabes qué?

you know what?

💡 Introducing a new topic or idea

no saber ni jota

to not know a thing

💡 Expressing complete ignorance about something

saber de memoria

to know by heart

💡 Having memorized something completely

a saber

namely / that is to say

💡 Introducing a clarification or specification

vete a saber

who knows / your guess is as good as mine

💡 Expressing uncertainty

Examples in Context

Sé hablar español.

I know how to speak Spanish.

Present

No sabía que venías hoy.

I didn't know you were coming today.

Imperfect

Supe la verdad ayer.

I found out the truth yesterday.

Preterite

Sabré la respuesta mañana.

I will know the answer tomorrow.

Future

He sabido que te casas.

I have learned that you are getting married.

Present Perfect

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

conocer(to know (people/places))

For familiarity with people, places - not facts or how to do something

entender(to understand)

Emphasizes comprehension rather than knowledge

comprender(to understand, grasp)

More formal than entender

Usage Notes

•Saber is irregular in several tenses with stem changes
•Present tense yo form: "sé" (irregular, with accent)
•Used for knowing facts, information, or how to do something (saber + infinitive)
•Different from "conocer" which is for familiarity with people, places, or things
•Preterite "supe" often translates as "found out" rather than "knew"
•Future and conditional stem: "sabr-" (sabré, sabría)
•Present subjunctive is irregular: sepa, sepas, sepa, etc.
•Common construction: saber + infinitive (to know how to do something)

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Saber

Simple Tenses

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