# saber conjugation

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Updated 2026-11-01 · HTML version: https://learnwithkin.com/spanish/conjugations/saber

> *Saber* means "to know": a fact, or how to do something. It's irregular in *yo* (*sé*), the preterite (*supe, supiste, supo*), the future and conditional (*sabré, sabría*) and the subjunctive (*sepa*). In the preterite it means "found out".

**Diagram.** saber is regular in the present except for yo, which is just sé. The past gets its own stem, sup-: supe, supiste, supo.
> The conjugation of saber as two grids, singular on the left and plural on the right. Present: yo sé, marked, then sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben, all regular. Preterite: supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron, with the stem sup- marked.
- saber, present: **sé**, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben.
- saber, preterite: s**up**e, s**up**iste, s**up**o, s**up**imos, s**up**isteis, s**up**ieron.
- Bold marks the letters that break the pattern.
- **Red pencil** is what breaks the pattern, **graphite** is regular *-er*. *Sé* takes an accent so it isn't *se* (himself, herself).

**saber** — to know. *Sé*.

## Present indicative

*The everyday present: what you do, what's true, what's going on.*


| Pronoun | saber | Say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| yo | sé | SEH |
| tú | sabes | SAH-behs |
| él / ella / usted | sabe | SAH-beh |
| nosotros | sabemos | sah-BEH-mohs |
| vosotros | sabéis | sah-BEH-ees |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | saben | SAH-behn |

Only *yo* is odd, and it's just *sé*. The accent matters: *se* without it is the "himself, herself" word. *No sé* (I don't know) is one you'll use daily. With *vos* it's *vos sabés*.

## Preterite

*The past for things that happened and finished: "I went", "she said".*


| Pronoun | saber | Say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| yo | supe | SOO-peh |
| tú | supiste | soo-PEES-teh |
| él / ella / usted | supo | SOO-poh |
| nosotros | supimos | soo-PEE-mohs |
| vosotros | supisteis | soo-pees-TAY-ees |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | supieron | soo-PYEH-rohn |

New stem, *sup-*, and no accents. The meaning shifts too: in the preterite, *saber* is the moment you learned it. *Lo supe ayer* is "I found out yesterday", not "I knew yesterday".

## Imperfect

*The past for how things were or used to be: "I was going", "we used to live".*


| Pronoun | saber | Say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| yo | sabía | sah-BEE-ah |
| tú | sabías | sah-BEE-ahs |
| él / ella / usted | sabía | sah-BEE-ah |
| nosotros | sabíamos | sah-BEE-ah-mohs |
| vosotros | sabíais | sah-BEE-ah-ees |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sabían | sah-BEE-ahn |

Regular, and it's the plain "knew": *ya lo sabía* (I already knew it). So *sabía* is knowing, *supe* is finding out.

## Future, conditional and subjunctive

*"Will" and "would", plus the subjunctive: the form Spanish uses after wishes, doubts and "if" (espero que…, si fuera…).*


| Pronoun | Future | Conditional | Pres. subj. | Imp. subj. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| yo | sabré | sabría | sepa | supiera |
| tú | sabrás | sabrías | sepas | supieras |
| él / ella / usted | sabrá | sabría | sepa | supiera |
| nosotros | sabremos | sabríamos | sepamos | supiéramos |
| vosotros | sabréis | sabríais | sepáis | supierais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sabrán | sabrían | sepan | supieran |

The future and conditional drop the *e*: *sabré, sabría*. The present subjunctive is all its own, *sepa*, and you'll hear it in *que yo sepa* (as far as I know) and *no creo que lo sepa* (I don't think he knows).

## Gerund and past participle

*The "-ing" form (estoy hablando, I'm talking) and the one that goes with haber (he hablado, I've talked).*


| Form | saber | In a sentence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| gerund (-ing) | sabiendo | *Lo hizo sabiendo que era tarde* (he did it knowing it was late) |
| past participle | sabido | *Si lo hubiera sabido…* (if I'd known…) |

## Imperative

*Commands: telling someone to do something, or not to.*


| Pronoun | Affirmative | Negative |
| --- | --- | --- |
| tú | sabe | no sepas |
| usted | sepa | no sepa |
| nosotros | sepamos | no sepamos |
| vosotros | sabed | no sepáis |
| ustedes | sepan | no sepan |

Rare, but *sepa usted que…* (I'll have you know…) turns up in formal speech.

## Saber or conocer?

*Both are "to know"*

| Spanish | Means |
| --- | --- |
| sé su nombre | I know his name: *saber* for facts |
| sé nadar | I know how to swim: *saber* + infinitive, a skill |
| conozco a Ana | I know Ana: *conocer* for people |
| conozco Madrid | I know Madrid: *conocer* for places, things you're familiar with |

**Saber a** is "to taste of": *sabe a chocolate* (it tastes like chocolate). Same verb, so *¿a qué sabe?* is "what does it taste like?".

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## Questions

### What is the yo form of saber?

*Sé*, with an accent: *no sé* (I don't know). The accent tells it apart from *se*, the pronoun.

### What is the preterite of saber?

*Supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron*. It usually means "found out": *¿cuándo lo supiste?* (when did you find out?).

### What is the subjunctive of saber?

Present: *sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan*. Imperfect: *supiera, supieras, supiera, supiéramos, supierais, supieran*. The phrase to know is *que yo sepa*, as far as I know.

### What's the difference between saber and conocer?

*Saber* is knowing a fact or how to do something: *sé cocinar* (I can cook). *Conocer* is knowing a person or a place: *conozco a tu hermano* (I know your brother).

### What does sabe a mean?

"Tastes like". *Esto sabe a limón* is "this tastes like lemon". It's the same *saber*, conjugated the same way.

## Related

- [poder conjugation](https://learnwithkin.com/spanish/conjugations/poder.md)
- [querer conjugation](https://learnwithkin.com/spanish/conjugations/querer.md)
- [Spanish verb conjugations](https://learnwithkin.com/spanish/conjugations.md)

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