eLanguage.com

Learn to Speak German Online:
German Grammar Guidebook

Germans have two verbs expressing 'to know' and they are used differently. Look at the following examples:

Das weiß ich nicht.

I don't know that.

Wissen Sie, ob er kommt?

Do you know if he's coming?

Wissen expresses knowledge of a fact, which may be one word or may be expressed in a clause (that he’s coming).

Kennen Sie Toni?

Do you know Toni?

Kennen Sie Köln?

Do you know Cologne?

Kennen expresses familiarity with a person or place, a knowledge that goes beyond simple facts.

Forms of wissen

The present tense of wissen is:

SINGULAR

PLURAL

The verb wissen is irregular in the perfect. The past participle is gewusst. Wissen (gewusst) takes the auxiliary haben.

Das habe ich nicht gewusst.

I didn’t know that.

Haben Sie gewusst, dass er kommt?

Did you know he was coming?

Forms of kennen

The present tense of kennen is:

SINGULAR

PLURAL

The verb kennen is irregular in the perfect. The past participle is gekannt. Kennen (gekannt) takes the auxiliary haben.

Mike hat Elvis gekannt.

Mike knew Elvis.

Hast du wirklich Elvis gekannt, bevor er berühmt wurde?

Did you really know Elvis before he became famous?

Examples of wissen, kennen