saber

See also: Saber

English

Pronunciation

(US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.bɚ/
(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.bə(ɹ)/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -eɪbə(ɹ)
Hyphenation: sa‧ber

Noun

saber (plural sabers)

(American spelling) Alternative form of sabre
Clipping of lightsaber

Verb

saber (third-person singular simple present sabers, present participle sabering, simple past and past participle sabered)

(American spelling) Alternative form of sabre

Translations

sabre — see sabre

Anagrams

bares, rabes, besra, Bears, baser, Brase, barse, bears, sabre, BSAer, Breas, Bares, braes

Asturian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin sapere (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /saˈbeɾ/, [saˈβ̞eɾ]

Verb

saber

to know

Related terms

sabor

Catalan

Alternative forms

sabre, sebre (directly from Latin sapĕre)
sapiguer (dialectal)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan saber, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central) [səˈβɛ]
IPA^(key): (Balearic) [səˈbə]
IPA^(key): (Valencia) [saˈbeɾ]
Audio: (file)

Verb

saber (first-person singular present sé, first-person singular preterite sabí, past participle sabut)

to know (a fact), to have knowledge
to know how to

Conjugation

Conjugation of saber (second conjugation, irregular)

person		singular			plural
infinitive			saber
gerund			sabent
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		sabut		sabuda
		plural		sabuts		sabudes
person		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	sé	saps	sap	sabem	sabeu	saben
	imperfect	sabia	sabies	sabia	sabíem	sabíeu	sabien
	future	sabré	sabràs	sabrà	sabrem	sabreu	sabran
	preterite	sabí	saberes	sabé	sabérem	sabéreu	saberen
	conditional	sabria	sabries	sabria	sabríem	sabríeu	sabrien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	sàpiga	sàpigues	sàpiga	sapiguem	sapigueu	sàpiguen
	imperfect	sabés	sabessis	sabés	sabéssim	sabéssiu	sabessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	sàpiga	sàpiga	sapiguem	sapigueu	sàpiguen
	negative (no)	—	no sàpigues	no sàpiga	no sapiguem	no sapigueu	no sàpiguen

Derived terms

Related terms

sabor

Noun

saber m (plural sabers)

knowledge, know-how

References

“saber” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
“saber”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
“saber” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
“saber” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese saber, from Latin sapere (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /saˈbeɾ/ [s̺aˈβ̞eɾ]
Rhymes: -eɾ

Verb

saber (first-person singular present sei, first-person singular preterite souben, past participle sabido)
saber (first-person singular present sei, first-person singular preterite soubem or soube, past participle sabido, reintegrationist norm)

to know (a fact)
to know how to do (something)
Val máis saber que ter (proverb)
Better to know than to have
to find out
(intransitive) to taste, to have a taste
Sabe ben! ― It tastes good!
(pronominal) to like, enjoy
A min sábeme o caldo. ― I like broth / I like this broth.

Usage notes

Like Portuguese and Spanish, Galician has two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to know”. The verb saber relates to factual knowledge and skills. In contrast, the verb coñecer relates to familiarity with people or places.

Conjugation

Currently, it is not known where the first person singular form that is currently used for the present indicative, "sei", originates from.

Conjugation of saber (irregular)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti)	Third-person (el / ela / Vde.)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / Vdes.)
Infinitive
Impersonal	saber
Personal	saber	saberes	saber	sabermos	saberdes	saberen
Gerund
	sabendo
Past participle
Masculine	sabido			sabidos
Feminine	sabida			sabidas
Indicative
Present	sei	sabes	sabe	sabemos	sabedes	saben
Imperfect	sabía	sabías	sabía	sabiamos	sabiades	sabían
Preterite	souben	soubeches	soubo	soubemos	soubestes	souberon
Pluperfect	soubera	souberas	soubera	souberamos	souberades	souberan
Future	saberei	saberás	saberá	saberemos	saberedes	saberán
Conditional	sabería	saberías	sabería	saberiamos	saberiades	saberían
Subjunctive
Present	saiba	saibas	saiba	saibamos	saibades	saiban
Imperfect	soubese	soubeses	soubese	soubésemos	soubésedes	soubesen
Future	souber	souberes	souber	soubermos	souberdes	souberen
Imperative
Affirmative		sabe	saiba	saibamos	sabede	saiban
Negative (non)		non saibas	non saiba	non saibamos	non saibades	non saiban

Reintegrated conjugation of saber (irregular) (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti / tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	saber
Personal	saber	saberes	saber	sabermos	saberdes	saberem
Gerund
	sabendo
Past participle
Masculine	sabido			sabidos
Feminine	sabida			sabidas
Indicative
Present	sei	sabes	sabe	sabemos	sabedes, sabeis	sabem
Imperfect	sabia	sabias	sabia	sabíamos	sabíades, sabíeis, sabíais¹	sabiam
Preterite	soubem, soube	soubeste, soubeche¹	soubo, soube	soubemos	soubestes	soubérom, souberam
Pluperfect	soubera	souberas	soubera	soubéramos	soubérades, soubéreis, soubérais¹	souberam
Future	saberei	saberás	saberá	saberemos	saberedes, sabereis	saberám, saberão
Conditional	saberia	saberias	saberia	saberíamos	saberíades, saberíeis, saberíais¹	saberiam
Subjunctive
Present	saiba	saibas	saiba	saibamos	saibades, saibais	saibam
Imperfect	soubesse	soubesses	soubesse	soubéssemos	soubéssedes, soubésseis	soubessem
Future	souber	souberes	souber	soubermos	souberdes	souberem
Imperative
Affirmative		sabe	saiba	saibamos	sabede, sabei	saibam
Negative (nom)		nom saibas	nom saiba	nom saibamos	nom saibades, nom saibais	nom saibam

¹Less recommended.

Derived terms

seica

Related terms

sabor

Noun

saber m (plural saberes)

knowledge, know-how

References

Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “saber”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “saber”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “saber”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “saber”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “saber”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Occitan

Alternative forms

saupre

Etymology

Inherited from Old Occitan saber, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation

Audio (Béarn): (file)

Verb

saber

to know
Antonym: ignorar

Conjugation

Lengadocian (Central Occitan)

		simple			compound
infinitive		saber			aver sauput
gerund		sabent			*use gerund of avent* + past participle**
past participle		sauput			—
person		singular			plural
person		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	sabi, sai	sabes, sas	sap	sabèm	sabètz	sabon
	imperfect	sabiái	sabiás	sabiá	sabiam	sabiatz	sabián
	preterite	saupèri	saupères	saupèt	saupèrem	saupèretz	saupèron
	future	sauprai	saupràs	sauprà	sauprem	saupretz	saupràn
	conditional	saupriái	saupriás	saupriá	saupriam	saupriatz	sauprián
	conditional 2nd form¹
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	sàpia	sàpias	sàpia	sapiam	sapiatz	sàpian
	imperfect	saupèsse	saupèsses	saupèsse	saupèssem	saupèssetz	saupèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
compound tenses	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
imperative			sap		sapiam	sabètz	¹Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

Related terms

sabor

Old Occitan

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).

Verb

saber

to taste (have a certain taste)
to know

Noun

saber m (oblique plural sabers, nominative singular sabers, nominative plural saber)

knowledge

Related terms

sabor (noun)

Descendants

Catalan: saber

References

Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “sapere”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 11: S–Si, page 193

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese saber, from Latin sapere (“taste, know”).

The 1SG reflects an original */ˈsajᵒ/, in common with other Romance languages, of uncertain origin. The present subjunctive forms show consonant metathesis (sapiām > */ˈsajpa/ > Pt. saiba).

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ʁ)/ [saˈbe(h)]
- (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ɾ)/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ʁ)/ [saˈbe(χ)]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ɻ)/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɐˈbeɾ/ [sɐˈβeɾ]
- (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɐˈbe.ɾi/ [sɐˈβe.ɾi]

(Rural Central Brazil) IPA^(key): /sɐˈbe(ɹ)/
Audio (Brazil): (file)
Audio (Brazil): (file)
Audio (Northern Portugal): (file)
Hyphenation: sa‧ber

Verb

saber (first-person singular present sei, first-person singular preterite soube, past participle sabido)

to know
2. (transitive or intransitive) to be aware, to know [with direct object ‘a fact’ or que (+ indicative clause when positive or subjunctive clause when negated) ‘that ...’ or indirect question]
  Perguntaram-me a resposta, mas eu não sabia. ― They asked me the answer, but I didn’t know.
  
  Sei que é verdade. ― I know it’s true.
4. (transitive) to be aware of a value or piece of information
  - 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Rocco, page 46:
    Olho-Tonto, você sabe que isso é nojento, não sabe?
    Mad-Eye, you know that this is disgusting, don't you?
  Eu sei qual é a capital da Assíria. ― I know what is the capital of Assyria.
  
  Ele sabe duzentos algarismos do número neperiano. ― He knows two hundred digits of Euler’s number.
5. (catenative) to know how [with infinitive ‘to do something’]
  Não sei fazer isso, mas ela sabe. ― I don’t know how to do this, but she knows.
  
  Sabes falar russo? ― Can you speak Russian?
(intransitive) to know; to have heard [with de or sobre ‘about something’]
Soube da explosão que houve no centro? ― Have you heard about the downtown explosion?
(intransitive, Portugal) to taste of/like (to have the same taste as) [with a ‘something’]
Um bom vinho sabe a carvalho. ― A good wine tastes like oak.
(intransitive, Portugal) to have a pleasant taste
Como sabe esse vinho! ― How good does this wine taste!
(transitive) to learn (to become informed of something)
Eles querem saber mais sobre o projeto. ― They want to learn more about the project.

Usage notes

saber does not mean to know in the sense of knowing someone (who they are); for that, conhecer should be used instead.
Although nonstandard, some speakers change the conjugation for the first person singular depending on the meaning of the verb: it is conjugated as sei if it means to know, but as saibo if it means to taste. Aside from this case, all the other verb forms are homonymous.

Conjugation

Conjugation of saber (irregular) (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	saber
Personal	saber	saberes	saber	sabermos	saberdes	saberem
Gerund
	sabendo
Past participle
Masculine	sabido			sabidos
Feminine	sabida			sabidas
Indicative
Present	sei	sabes	sabe	sabemos	sabeis	sabem
Imperfect	sabia	sabias	sabia	sabíamos	sabíeis	sabiam
Preterite	soube	soubeste	soube	soubemos	soubestes	souberam
Pluperfect	soubera	souberas	soubera	soubéramos	soubéreis	souberam
Future	saberei	saberás	saberá	saberemos	sabereis	saberão
Conditional	saberia	saberias	saberia	saberíamos	saberíeis	saberiam
Subjunctive
Present	saiba	saibas	saiba	saibamos	saibais	saibam
Imperfect	soubesse	soubesses	soubesse	soubéssemos	soubésseis	soubessem
Future	souber	souberes	souber	soubermos	souberdes	souberem
Imperative
Affirmative		sabe	saiba	saibamos	sabei	saibam
Negative (não)		não saibas	não saiba	não saibamos	não saibais	não saibam

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:saber.

Synonyms

(to know a value): conhecer
(to know how to do something): conseguir
(to taste of): ter gosto de

Descendants

Kabuverdianu: sabe
Macanese: sabe
Macau Pidgin Portuguese: 撒㗑, 撒備, 散拜
- → Chinese Pidgin English: savvy, sarby
Papiamentu: sabi
→ Bislama: save
→ Krio: sabi
→ Nigerian Pidgin: sabi
→ Sranan Tongo: sabi
- Aukan: sabi
- Saramaccan: sábi
→ Tok Pisin: save

Noun

saber m (plural saberes)

knowledge; lore (intellectual understanding)
Synonyms: conhecimento, sabedoria

Derived terms

Related terms

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin sapere (“taste, know”). Compare English savvy, savor.

The 1SG reflects an original */ˈsajo/, in common with other Romance languages, of uncertain origin. The present subjunctive forms show consonant metathesis (sapiām > */ˈsajpa/ > Sp. sepa).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /saˈbeɾ/ [saˈβ̞eɾ]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -eɾ
Syllabification: sa‧ber

Verb

saber (first-person singular present sé, first-person singular preterite supe, past participle sabido)

to know, to understand (a fact)
Sé que volverá. ― I know it'll come back.

Lo siguiente que sé... ― Next thing I know...

que yo sepa ― as far as I know

Si tú supieras... ― If you knew...
to know how to do something
Sabe hablar español.
He knows how to speak Spanish.
(in the preterite tense) to find out, to learn
to taste (i.e. have a flavour)
Sabe a pollo. ― It tastes like chicken.

Estos plátanos saben bien. ― These bananas taste good.
to realize, to know (i.e. recognize)
El hombre no sabe lo talentoso que su hijo es.
The man doesn't realize how talented his son is.
to tell, to know (i.e. to discern or distinguish if something is the case)
Siempre es difícil saber si me mientes.
It's always hard to tell if you're lying to me.
(informal) to figure out
Todavía estamos tratando de saber qué acaba de pasar.
We're still trying to figure out what just happened.
to hear from [with de ‘someone’]
No he sabido nada de ella en meses.
I haven't heard from her in months.
to hear of, to hear about [with de ‘something’]
to learn, to find out, to know [with de ‘about something’]
(reflexive) to be known
Ya se sabe que uno de los factores que aceleran esta enfermedad es el estrés.
It is known that one of the factors that speeds up this disease is stress.
(reflexive) to know (extremely well)
He oído que te sabes todas las líneas de la película de memoria.
I heard that you know all the lines of the movie by heart.
(colloquial, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru) Synonym of soler (in several senses: (auxiliary) to be accustomed to; (imperfect) to used to)
Synonyms: soler, acostumbrar

Conjugation

The irregular conjugation of saber is the source of two common grammatical errors among Spanish speakers, both of which concern the first-person singular present indicative form:

The form sabo is frequent among non-native speakers learning the language, and to a lesser extent also among children who are native speakers^[1] (e.g. *(yo) sabo hablar inglés bien ― I know how to speak English well). The correct conjugated form is sé (and thus the above example should read (yo) sé hablar inglés bien), and fluent Spanish speakers generally do not make this mistake; this gave rise to the humorous phrase yo no sabo in Spanish and to the derogatory term no sabo kid in English, both terms referring to the lack of fluency in the language.
The form sepo is sometimes found with the meaning "to taste" (e.g. *(yo) sepo a azúcar ― I taste like sugar), even among fluent Spanish speakers. This usage is proscribed by the Royal Spanish Academy, who maintain that the conjugation of saber is the same regardless of meaning, thus making sé the correct form in this context as well (i.e., (yo) sé a azúcar).

Conjugation of saber (irregular) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

		singular			plural
infinitive			saber
gerund			sabiendo
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		sabido		sabida
		plural		sabidos		sabidas
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	sé	sabes^{^tú} sabés^{^vos}	sabe	sabemos	sabéis	saben
	imperfect	sabía	sabías	sabía	sabíamos	sabíais	sabían
	preterite	supe	supiste	supo	supimos	supisteis	supieron
	future	sabré	sabrás	sabrá	sabremos	sabréis	sabrán
	conditional	sabría	sabrías	sabría	sabríamos	sabríais	sabrían

subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	sepa	sepas^{^tú} sepás^{^vos²}	sepa	sepamos	sepáis	sepan
	imperfect (ra)	supiera	supieras	supiera	supiéramos	supierais	supieran
	imperfect (se)	supiese	supieses	supiese	supiésemos	supieseis	supiesen
	future¹	supiere	supieres	supiere	supiéremos	supiereis	supieren

imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		sabe^{^tú} sabé^{^vos}	sepa	sepamos	sabed	sepan
	negative		no sepas	no sepa	no sepamos	no sepáis	no sepan

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

Selected combined forms of saber (irregular)

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive saber
	dative	saberme	saberte	saberle, saberse	sabernos	saberos	saberles, saberse
	accusative	saberme	saberte	saberlo, saberla, saberse	sabernos	saberos	saberlos, saberlas, saberse

with gerund sabiendo
	dative	sabiéndome	sabiéndote	sabiéndole, sabiéndose	sabiéndonos	sabiéndoos	sabiéndoles, sabiéndose
	accusative	sabiéndome	sabiéndote	sabiéndolo, sabiéndola, sabiéndose	sabiéndonos	sabiéndoos	sabiéndolos, sabiéndolas, sabiéndose

with informal second-person singular tú imperative sabe
	dative	sábeme	sábete	sábele	sábenos	not used	sábeles
	accusative	sábeme	sábete	sábelo, sábela	sábenos	not used	sábelos, sábelas

with informal second-person singular vos imperative sabé
	dative	sabeme	sabete	sabele	sabenos	not used	sabeles
	accusative	sabeme	sabete	sabelo, sabela	sabenos	not used	sabelos, sabelas

with formal second-person singular imperative sepa
	dative	sépame	not used	sépale, sépase	sépanos	not used	sépales
	accusative	sépame	not used	sépalo, sépala, sépase	sépanos	not used	sépalos, sépalas

with first-person plural imperative sepamos
	dative	not used	sepámoste	sepámosle	sepámonos	sepámoos	sepámosles
	accusative	not used	sepámoste	sepámoslo, sepámosla	sepámonos	sepámoos	sepámoslos, sepámoslas

with informal second-person plural imperative sabed
	dative	sabedme	not used	sabedle	sabednos	sabeos	sabedles
	accusative	sabedme	not used	sabedlo, sabedla	sabednos	sabeos	sabedlos, sabedlas

with formal second-person plural imperative sepan
	dative	sépanme	not used	sépanle	sépannos	not used	sépanles, sépanse
	accusative	sépanme	not used	sépanlo, sépanla	sépannos	not used	sépanlos, sépanlas, sépanse

Derived terms

Related terms

References

^ Kathryn Henn-Reinke (2012) “Riverview Elementary School, San Diego, California: Education in Spanish, English, and Mandarin Chinese”, in Considering Trilingual Education (Routledge Research in Education), New York, N.Y., London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 149: “The correct response is <<Yo sé>>, but the error in generalization of this irregular verb is also typical of children who are native speakers of Spanish.”

Noun

saber m (plural saberes)

knowledge

Derived terms

Descendants

→ English: savvy (via some creole or pidgin)
→ Ido: savar
→ Sabir: sabir

saber

English

Pronunciation

Noun

Verb

Translations

Anagrams

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