Irregular verb

saber
to know

Saber is one of the most important irregular verbs in Spanish — it appears in virtually every GCSE and A-Level task.

Practice saber free →

Saber conjugation in Spanish

Saber means 'to know' — specifically knowing facts, information or how to do something, as opposed to knowing people or places (which uses conocer). Sé la respuesta (I know the answer); sé nadar (I can swim). It is irregular: the yo form is the short sé, and the preterite (supe, supo) shifts meaning to 'found out'. The saber versus conocer distinction is a classic exam point: facts and skills take saber; familiarity with people and places takes conocer.

Quick facts

Meaningto know
Verb type-er verb
Regular / IrregularIrregular
CEFR levelA2

Saber — conjugation tables

Saber (to know) is an irregular -er verb.

Indicative
Presente guide →
yosé
túsabes
él/ellasabe
nosotrossabemos
vosotrossabéis
ellos/ellassaben
Pretérito Indefinido guide →
yosupe
túsupiste
él/ellasupo
nosotrossupimos
vosotrossupisteis
ellos/ellassupieron
Pretérito Imperfecto guide →
yosabía
túsabías
él/ellasabía
nosotrossabíamos
vosotrossabíais
ellos/ellassabían
Futuro guide →
yosabré
túsabrás
él/ellasabrá
nosotrossabremos
vosotrossabréis
ellos/ellassabrán
Condicional guide →
yosabría
túsabrías
él/ellasabría
nosotrossabríamos
vosotrossabríais
ellos/ellassabrían
Pretérito Perfecto guide →
yohe sabido
túhas sabido
él/ellaha sabido
nosotroshemos sabido
vosotroshabéis sabido
ellos/ellashan sabido
Pluscuamperfecto guide →
yohabía sabido
túhabías sabido
él/ellahabía sabido
nosotroshabíamos sabido
vosotroshabíais sabido
ellos/ellashabían sabido
Futuro Compuesto guide →
yohabré sabido
túhabrás sabido
él/ellahabrá sabido
nosotroshabremos sabido
vosotroshabréis sabido
ellos/ellashabrán sabido
Presente Progresivo guide →
yoestoy sabiendo
túestás sabiendo
él/ellaestá sabiendo
nosotrosestamos sabiendo
vosotrosestáis sabiendo
ellos/ellasestán sabiendo
Subjunctive
Pres. Subjuntivo guide →
yosepa
túsepas
él/ellasepa
nosotrossepamos
vosotrossepáis
ellos/ellassepan
Imperf. Subjuntivo guide →
yosupiera
túsupieras
él/ellasupiera
nosotrossupiéramos
vosotrossupierais
ellos/ellassupieran
Pluscuamp. Subjuntivo guide →
yohubiera sabido
túhubieras sabido
él/ellahubiera sabido
nosotroshubiéramos sabido
vosotroshubierais sabido
ellos/ellashubieran sabido
Imperative
Imperativo guide →
túsabe
ustedsepa
nosotrossepamos
vosotrossabed
ustedessepan

Example sentences with saber

Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.

1.
Sé hablar tres idiomas.
I can speak three languages.
2.
¿Sabes dónde está la biblioteca?
Do you know where the library is?
3.
No sé qué decir.
I don't know what to say.
4.
Supe la noticia ayer.
I found out the news yesterday.
5.
¿Cómo supo que yo estaba aquí?
How did she know I was here?
6.
No sabíamos que ibas a venir.
We didn't know you were coming.
7.
Sabrás la respuesta cuando estudies más.
You'll know the answer when you study more.
8.
¿Sabes nadar?
Can you swim?
9.
Lo sé de memoria.
I know it by heart.
10.
Hay que saber cuándo parar.
You have to know when to stop.

How to use saber

Knowing facts

Sé la respuesta (I know the answer); no sé (I don't know).

Knowing how to

Saber + infinitive: sé conducir (I can drive).

Finding out (preterite)

In the preterite it means found out: supe la verdad.

Tasting

Saber a means to taste of: sabe a limón (it tastes of lemon).

Common phrases using saber

Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.

saber + infinitivoto know how to do something
¿Sabes qué?You know what?
que yo sepaas far as I know
saber de memoriato know by heart
saber ato taste of (sabe a limón — it tastes of lemon)

Idiomatic expressions

que yo sepaas far as I know
saber ato taste of
¡quién sabe!who knows!
sin saberlowithout knowing it

Common mistakes with saber

Saber means to know a fact or skill; conocer means to know a person or place. Sé nadar = I know how to swim. Conozco a María = I know María. Mixing them up loses marks.

Grammar notes

Presente

Only the yo form is irregular and very short. All other forms are perfectly regular -er endings on the stem sab-.

Pretérito Indefinido

Completely irregular stem: sup-. Use the standard preterite -er endings.

Futuro

Irregular future stem: sabr-. Apply the regular future endings to sabr-.

Condicional

Uses the same irregular stem as the future: sabr-.

Practice saber — free

Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.

Practice saber now →

Quick quiz — saber

Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.

él / ella (Futuro)
vosotros (Pretérito Indefinido)
tú (Futuro)

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate saber in the present tense?

yo: sé, tú: sabes, él: sabe, nosotros: sabemos, vosotros: sabéis, ellos: saben

Is saber a regular or irregular verb?

Saber is irregular. The tenses with irregular forms are: Presente, Pretérito Indefinido, Futuro, Condicional.

What are the past participle and gerund of saber?

The past participle is sabido (he sabido) and the gerund is sabiendo (estoy sabiendo).

Similar verbs to saber

Verbs that are easy to confuse with saber or that behave like it.

conocerto know people and places — the key contrast with saber (facts and skills).
podercan in the sense of ability/permission, versus saber's 'know how to'.
entenderto understand — related to knowing, but about comprehension.

Related verbs

poder querer

Saber is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.

Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.