kennen, weten or kunnen?
kennen, weten or kunnen?
English 'know' covers two entirely different Dutch verbs, and English 'can' covers a third that also gets pulled into the same territory. Choosing between kennen, weten and kunnen is a decision English never asks you to make.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
kennen takes a person, place or thing you are acquainted with
Ik ken hem. Ken je Rotterdam?
I know him. Do you know Rotterdam?
kennen means to be familiar with something through experience, and it always takes a direct object — a person, a city, a book, a word. It can never be followed by a clause: 'ik ken dat hij komt' is impossible. If you can rephrase the English as 'I am acquainted with', kennen is the verb you want.
weten takes a fact or a whole clause
Ik weet het. Ik weet dat hij komt. Weet je waar het is?
I know. I know he's coming. Do you know where it is?
weten is about information: it takes het, dat, a question word, or a full subordinate clause. Ik weet het is how you say 'I know' as a standalone reply — the pronoun het cannot be dropped, unlike in English. weten van also exists for 'to be aware of': Ik weet niets van die zaak.
kunnen for skills, where English also says 'know how to'
Ik kan zwemmen. Kun je Nederlands?
I can swim. Do you know Dutch?
For an acquired ability, Dutch uses kunnen — and note that with a language, kunnen can appear with no infinitive at all: Kun je Nederlands? is idiomatic for 'do you speak Dutch?'. English switches between 'can' and 'know how to' here. The overlap means all three verbs can compete for one English sentence, so the practical test is: acquainted with (kennen), informed of (weten), or able to (kunnen)?
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- to know (be acquainted with)
- English
- to know (a fact)
- English
- can / to be able to
- English
- I know
- English
- I don't know him
- English
- to get acquainted
- English
- knowledge / acquaintance
- English
- to realize
- English
- to recognize
- English
- to acknowledge
Finished this lesson?