Know in Different Languages: 70 Translations and Examples

The word know is an essential part of everyday communication. We use it when sharing information, talking about people we recognize, explaining our skills, or showing that we understand something. But how do people say “know” in other languages?

In this guide, you will discover words in different languages, including 70 translations with native writing, easy pronunciation guides, example sentences, and English meanings. From Spanish and French to Hindi, Urdu, Japanese, and Arabic, these expressions will help you explore how different languages communicate knowledge. You will also learn why the translation of “know” sometimes changes depending on the situation.

How to Say Know in Different Languages

The word “know” does not always have one exact translation. Some languages use different verbs for knowing facts, recognizing people, or having a particular skill.

Here are eight useful translations to start with.

Language	Translation	Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Spanish	Saber	sah-BEHR	Sé la respuesta.	I know the answer.
French	Savoir	sah-VWAHR	Je sais la réponse.	I know the answer.
German	Wissen	VIH-sen	Ich weiß die Antwort.	I know the answer.
Italian	Sapere	sah-PEH-reh	So la risposta.	I know the answer.
Hindi	पता होना	pa-taa ho-naa	मुझे जवाब पता है।	I know the answer.
Urdu	معلوم ہونا	ma-loom ho-naa	مجھے جواب معلوم ہے۔	I know the answer.
Japanese	知っている	shit-teh ee-roo	答えを知っています。	I know the answer.
Chinese (Mandarin)	知道	zhī-dào	我知道答案。	I know the answer.

Know in South Asian Languages

South Asian languages offer several ways to express knowledge, awareness, and familiarity. The most natural translation often depends on whether you are talking about a fact or a person.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Hindi	जानना	jaan-naa	मैं जवाब जानता हूँ।	I know the answer.
Urdu	جاننا	jaan-naa	میں جواب جانتا ہوں۔	I know the answer.
Bengali	জানা	ja-na	আমি উত্তরটি জানি।	I know the answer.
Punjabi	ਜਾਣਨਾ	jaan-naa	ਮੈਂ ਜਵਾਬ ਜਾਣਦਾ ਹਾਂ।	I know the answer.
Gujarati	જાણવું	jaan-vun	હું જવાબ જાણું છું.	I know the answer.
Marathi	जाणणे	jaan-ne	मला उत्तर माहीत आहे.	I know the answer.
Nepali	जान्नु	jaan-nu	मलाई उत्तर थाहा छ।	I know the answer.
Sinhala	දැනගන්න	dae-na-gan-na	මම පිළිතුර දන්නවා.	I know the answer.

Know in East Asian Languages

East Asian languages use distinct words and grammatical patterns to communicate knowledge. Some expressions refer to knowing information, while others emphasize becoming aware of something or being familiar with it.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Chinese (Mandarin)	知道	zhī-dào	我知道答案。	I know the answer.
Japanese	知っている	shit-teh ee-roo	答えを知っています。	I know the answer.
Korean	알다	al-da	저는 답을 알아요.	I know the answer.
Mongolian	мэдэх	meh-dekh	Би хариултыг мэднэ.	I know the answer.
Tibetan	ཤེས་པ་	she-pa	ངས་ལན་ཤེས།	I know the answer.

Know in Southeast Asian Languages

These translations are useful for travelers, language learners, and anyone interested in everyday communication across Southeast Asia.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Indonesian	Tahu	taa-hoo	Saya tahu jawabannya.	I know the answer.
Malay	Tahu	taa-hoo	Saya tahu jawapannya.	I know the answer.
Filipino (Tagalog)	Alam	ah-lam	Alam ko ang sagot.	I know the answer.
Vietnamese	Biết	byet	Tôi biết câu trả lời.	I know the answer.
Thai	รู้	roo	ฉันรู้คำตอบ	I know the answer.
Burmese	သိသည်	thi-deh	အဖြေကို သိတယ်။	I know the answer.
Khmer	ដឹង	deung	ខ្ញុំដឹងចម្លើយ។	I know the answer.
Lao	ຮູ້	hoo	ຂ້ອຍຮູ້ຄໍາຕອບ.	I know the answer.

Know in Middle Eastern Languages

Middle Eastern languages express knowledge through different verbs and sentence structures. These examples focus on knowing information or an answer.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Arabic	أعرف	a-ri-fu	أعرف الجواب.	I know the answer.
Persian (Farsi)	دانستن	daa-nes-tan	من جواب را می‌دانم.	I know the answer.
Hebrew	לדעת	la-da-at	אני יודע את התשובה.	I know the answer.
Turkish	Bilmek	bil-mek	Cevabı biliyorum.	I know the answer.
Kurdish (Kurmanji)	Zanîn	za-neen	Ez bersivê dizanim.	I know the answer.
Pashto	پوهېدل	po-hed-al	زه په ځواب پوهېږم.	I know the answer.

Know in Western European Languages

Many Western European languages have related vocabulary, but their grammar and everyday expressions differ. Notice how the verb changes to fit the complete sentence.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
English	Know	noh	I know the answer.	I know the answer.
French	Savoir	sah-vwahr	Je sais la réponse.	I know the answer.
German	Wissen	vih-sen	Ich weiß die Antwort.	I know the answer.
Dutch	Weten	vay-ten	Ik weet het antwoord.	I know the answer.
Luxembourgish	Wëssen	vuh-sen	Ech weess d’Äntwert.	I know the answer.
Frisian	Witte	vih-tuh	Ik wit it antwurd.	I know the answer.

Know in Northern European Languages

Northern European languages include several related Germanic languages, as well as Finnish and Estonian, which belong to a different language family.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Swedish	Veta	veh-ta	Jag vet svaret.	I know the answer.
Norwegian	Vite	vee-teh	Jeg vet svaret.	I know the answer.
Danish	Vide	vee-the	Jeg ved svaret.	I know the answer.
Icelandic	Vita	vee-ta	Ég veit svarið.	I know the answer.
Faroese	Vita	vee-ta	Eg veit svarið.	I know the answer.
Finnish	Tietää	tee-eh-taa	Tiedän vastauksen.	I know the answer.
Estonian	Teadma	tead-maa	Ma tean vastust.	I know the answer.

Know in Southern European Languages

Southern European languages offer different expressions for knowledge and familiarity. These examples show common ways to communicate that you know an answer.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Italian	Sapere	sah-peh-reh	So la risposta.	I know the answer.
Portuguese	Saber	sah-behr	Eu sei a resposta.	I know the answer.
Catalan	Saber	sah-beh	Sé la resposta.	I know the answer.
Galician	Saber	sah-behr	Sei a resposta.	I know the answer.
Romanian	A ști	ah shtee	Știu răspunsul.	I know the answer.
Greek	Ξέρω	kseh-roh	Ξέρω την απάντηση.	I know the answer.
Albanian	Di	dee	Unë e di përgjigjen.	I know the answer.
Basque	Jakin	yah-kin	Erantzuna dakit.	I know the answer.

Know in Slavic and Eastern European Languages

Slavic languages have several related expressions for knowledge, although pronunciation, spelling, and conjugation vary from one language to another.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Russian	Знать	znat	Я знаю ответ.	I know the answer.
Ukrainian	Знати	zna-ty	Я знаю відповідь.	I know the answer.
Polish	Wiedzieć	vye-jetch	Wiem, jaka jest odpowiedź.	I know what the answer is.
Czech	Vědět	vye-dyet	Vím, jaká je odpověď.	I know what the answer is.
Slovak	Vedieť	veh-dyet	Viem, aká je odpoveď.	I know what the answer is.
Bulgarian	Знам	znam	Знам отговора.	I know the answer.
Serbian	Знати	zna-tee	Знам одговор.	I know the answer.
Croatian	Znati	zna-tee	Znam odgovor.	I know the answer.

Know in African Languages

Africa is home to a wide variety of languages. The following examples show expressions associated with knowing, understanding, or possessing information.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Afrikaans	Weet	veet	Ek weet die antwoord.	I know the answer.
Amharic	ማወቅ	ma-we-k	መልሱን አውቃለሁ።	I know the answer.
Chichewa	Kudziwa	koo-dzee-wa	Ndikudziwa yankho.	I know the answer.
Hausa	Sani	sah-nee	Na san amsar.	I know the answer.
Igbo	Ịma	ee-mah	Ama m azịza ya.	I know the answer.
Kinyarwanda	Kumenya	koo-mehn-ya	Nzi igisubizo.	I know the answer.
Sesotho	Tseba	tseh-bah	Ke tseba karabo.	I know the answer.
Shona	Kuziva	koo-zee-va	Ndinoziva mhinduro.	I know the answer.
Somali	Ogaansho	oh-gaan-shoh	Waan ogahay jawaabta.	I know the answer.
Swahili	Kujua	koo-joo-ah	Ninajua jibu.	I know the answer.
Xhosa	Ukwazi	ook-wah-zee	Ndiyayazi impendulo.	I know the answer.
Yoruba	Mọ̀	maw	Mo mọ ìdáhùn náà.	I know the answer.
Zulu	Ukwazi	ook-wah-zee	Ngiyazi impendulo.	I know the answer.

Know in Austronesian and Other Languages

Austronesian languages are spoken across parts of Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and other regions. The additional languages below expand the collection beyond the most widely studied European and Asian languages.

Language	Native Translation	Easy Pronunciation	Example Sentence	English Meaning
Cebuano	Nahibalo	na-hee-ba-lo	Nahibalo ko sa tubag.	I know the answer.
Hawaiian	ʻIke	ee-keh	ʻIke au i ka pane.	I know the answer.
Javanese	Ngerti	ngur-tee	Aku ngerti jawabane.	I know the answer.
Malagasy	Mahalala	ma-ha-la-la	Fantatro ny valiny.	I know the answer.
Māori	Mōhio	moh-hee-oh	E mōhio ana ahau ki te whakautu.	I know the answer.
Samoan	Iloa	ee-lo-ah	Ou te iloa le tali.	I know the answer.
Sundanese	Nyaho	nya-ho	Kuring nyaho kana jawabanana.	I know the answer.
Esperanto	Scii	stsee-ee	Mi scias la respondon.	I know the answer.

How to Use “Know” in Everyday Conversations

The English word “know” can express different kinds of knowledge. Understanding the situation helps you select the correct translation in another language.

• Knowing a fact: I know the answer.
• Knowing a person: I know your friend.
• Knowing a skill: I know how to swim.
• Knowing a place: I know this city.
• Understanding someone: I know what you mean.

A single translation may not work naturally in all five situations. When learning vocabulary, practice each expression in a complete sentence to understand its actual use.

Why Does the Translation of “Know” Change?

Languages do not always divide the concept of knowledge in the same way as English.

For example, French distinguishes between savoir, commonly used for facts and skills, and connaître, used for familiarity with people, places, and subjects.

Spanish also uses saber for facts or skills and conocer for familiarity with people or places.

Other languages may express the difference through sentence structure, additional words, verb endings, or context. This is why learning the meaning of a word in isolation is not always enough.

Common Mistakes When Translating “Know”

Avoid these mistakes when learning translations of “know” around the world.

• Using the dictionary form in every sentence: The correct verb may need to change according to the subject or tense.
• Ignoring context: Knowing a fact is not always the same as knowing a person.
• Overlooking pronunciation: English sound patterns do not apply to every language.
• Forgetting native spelling: Accents and other written marks can be important.
• Assuming similar words mean exactly the same thing: Related languages can have different rules and everyday expressions.

The best approach is to learn the translation, pronunciation, and a natural example sentence together.

Tips to Remember “Know” in Different Languages

Use these practical methods to remember vocabulary and improve your language skills.

• Start with familiar languages: Learn words you can connect with languages you already speak.
• Practice short sentences: Repeat “I know the answer” in each language.
• Listen to native pronunciation: Audio resources can help you recognize unfamiliar sounds.
• Use spaced repetition: Review words regularly instead of studying them only once.
• Compare related languages: Similar vocabulary can help you identify patterns, but always check the meaning and grammar.
• Practice different contexts: Learn separate examples for facts, people, skills, and places.

Consistent practice helps you remember both the word and the situations in which it is appropriate.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you say “know” in different languages?

Examples include saber in Spanish, savoir in French, wissen in German, tahu in Indonesian, जानना in Hindi, and 知道 in Mandarin Chinese. The correct choice depends on the context.

What is the difference between “know” and “understand”?

“Know” often means having information or being familiar with someone or something. “Understand” means grasping the meaning, explanation, or significance of something. Some languages use different verbs for these ideas.

How do you say “I know” in Spanish?

You can say Lo sé, meaning “I know it” or simply “I know.” To express familiarity with a person, Spanish commonly uses Lo conozco for “I know him” and La conozco for “I know her.”

Why are there different translations for the word “know”?

Languages have different grammar systems and ways of expressing knowledge. The appropriate word can depend on whether you know a fact, recognize someone, understand an idea, or have a skill.

How can I learn to pronounce “know” in other languages?

Start by reading the pronunciation guide, then listen to native speakers and repeat the word aloud. Practice it in a complete sentence because pronunciation and grammar can change when a word is used in conversation.

Conclusion

Exploring know in different languages reveals how people express facts, familiarity, and understanding across cultures. The most important lesson is that a translation should fit the situation, not just the dictionary definition. By learning native expressions alongside pronunciation and practical examples, you can build vocabulary and communicate more naturally.