You know him, but do you KNOW him? || 认识 vs 知道

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One of the most crucial things to know how to do when learning a new language is how to say “know”. I know that I personally use the word “know” quite frequently; in fact I just used this word three times in the last two sentences 🙃.

Well then, how do you say “know” in Chinese? Unfortunately for us native English speakers, Chinese has many words for “know”, so we’ll focus on the two most common ones: “认识“ and “知道“.

Fortunately enough for you beginner Chinese learners, I know how to differentiate between the two, and by reading this article you’ll know as well 😃

TLDR

• 认识 can be translated as “to be familiar with” or “to recognize”, and is used when knowing people/places, such as “I know him”

• 知道 can be translated as “to know that” or “to have knowledge of”, and is used when knowing facts, such as “I know that the sky is blue”

• Spanish speakers out there: 认识 —> conocer, 知道 —> saber

认识

认识 is more ambiguous and expansive in its usage compared to 知道 and Chinese learners tend to have more trouble with 认识, so let’s start there.

认识 can be translated “to be familiar with” or “to recognize”, and is used when knowing people/places, such as “I know him”. 认识 can also be used to describe being able to read/discern texts, such as knowing certain Chinese characters or words.

Breaking down 认识 character by character, 认 can mean “recognize” or “identify”, and 识 can mean “to know” or “knowledge”. In terms of 认识, most of the meaning comes from 认.

FunFact! “知识”, a word that basically represents if 认识 and 知道 had a baby, means “knowledge”, quite big brain, or should I say 大脑子? 🧠

Anyway, here are some examples that cover 认识’s most frequent use cases:

• 对不起，我不认识你。

  • I’m sorry, I don’t know you (said if a person mistakes you for someone else)

• 我不认识这个地方。

  • I don’t know this area (said if you’re entering a place you’ve never been to before)

• 你认识的汉字多不多？

  • Do you know a lot of characters?

知道

知道 is simpler in its usage compared to 认识; it can be translated as “to have knowledge of”, and is used when knowing facts, such as “I know that the sky is blue”.

Breaking down 知道 character by character, 知 can mean “know” or “be aware”, and 道 can mean “path”. In terms of 知道, most of the meaning comes from 知.

Here are some examples:

• 我知道一加一等于二。

  • I know that one plus one is two.

• 真的？我知道了。

  • Really? Now I know.

• 你知道这个诗人吗？

  • Do you know this poet?

This last example actually really helps us get towards one of the best examples of the difference between these two words; personal familiarity vs knowledge of a person. Let’s look at that in more depth!

“我认识他” vs. “我知道他“

The above two sentences are both valid sentences that Chinese speakers say quite frequently. However, they have two very different meanings.

我认识他：This sentence means “I know him” in the context of having met him before. It can also be translated as “I have met him” or “I am acquainted with him”.

我知道他：This sentence means “I know him” in the context of being aware that someone exists, meaning that it can be translated as “I am aware he exists” or “I know of him”.

Comparison of scenarios:

• 妈，这是我的男朋友；你认识他吗？对啊！他以前是我的学生之一。

  • Mom, this is my boyfriend; do you know him? Of course! In the past he was one of my students. (personal relationship with/ knowledge of my bf；认识)

• 你知道李白吗？我肯定知道他，他是中国最有名的诗人。

  • Do you know Li Bai? I definitely know Li Bai, he is one of China’s most famous poets. (non-personal knowledge of Li Bai，知道)

Quick Recap

• 认识 is used when discussing familiarity/recognition

• 知道 is used when discussing factual knowledge/awareness

For the Spanish speakers out there, the 认识/知道 dynamic is similar to how “know” is separated between “conocer” and “saber” in Spanish, with 认识 and conocer both corresponding roughly to familiarity and 知道 and saber both being used for factual knowledge. Hopefully that helps you to differentiate between the two!

Now that you’ve read this article, do you know the difference between 认识 and 知道? Here’s a little quiz to help you check!