connaître
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See also: connaitre
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Old French conoistre, from Late Latin conōscere, from Latin cognōscere.
Pronunciation
Verb
connaître
- (transitive) to know (of), to be familiar with (a person, place, fact, event)
- (transitive) to know, to experience (glory, hunger, problems etc.)
- (transitive, archaic, euphemistic) to know (sexually)
- (pronominal) to be knowledgeable (en about)
- C’est toi qui t’y connais! ― You're the expert! (literally, “It is you who knows!”)
- (law, somewhat archaic) to hear or examine judicially; to judge or decide judicially
- 1849 August 9, “Loi du 9 août 1849 sur l'état de siège [Law of 9 August 1849 on State of Siege]”, in Légifrance, published 2004-12-21:
- Après la levée de l’état de siège, les tribunaux militaires continuent de connaître des crimes et délits dont la poursuite leur avait été déférée.
- After the lifting of the state of siege, the military tribunals continue to address crimes and offences whose prosecution has been submitted to them.
Usage notes
In the sense of "to know something to be true", the verb savoir is used.
Conjugation
This verb is one of a fairly small group of -re verbs that are all conjugated the same way. They are unlike other verb groups in that the 'i' is given a circumflex before a 't'.
| infinitive | simple | connaître | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | connaissant /kɔ.nɛ.sɑ̃/ or /kɔ.ne.sɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | connu /kɔ.ny/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | connais /kɔ.nɛ/ |
connais /kɔ.nɛ/ |
connaît /kɔ.nɛ/ |
connaissons /kɔ.nɛ.sɔ̃/ or /kɔ.ne.sɔ̃/ |
connaissez /kɔ.nɛ.se/ or /kɔ.ne.se/ |
connaissent /kɔ.nɛs/ |
| imperfect | connaissais /kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ or /kɔ.ne.sɛ/ |
connaissais /kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ or /kɔ.ne.sɛ/ |
connaissait /kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ or /kɔ.ne.sɛ/ |
connaissions /kɔ.nɛ.sjɔ̃/ or /kɔ.ne.sjɔ̃/ |
connaissiez /kɔ.nɛ.sje/ or /kɔ.ne.sje/ |
connaissaient /kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ or /kɔ.ne.sɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | connus /kɔ.ny/ |
connus /kɔ.ny/ |
connut /kɔ.ny/ |
connûmes /kɔ.nym/ |
connûtes /kɔ.nyt/ |
connurent /kɔ.nyʁ/ | |
| future | connaîtrai /kɔ.nɛ.tʁe/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁe/ |
connaîtras /kɔ.nɛ.tʁa/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁa/ |
connaîtra /kɔ.nɛ.tʁa/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁa/ |
connaîtrons /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɔ̃/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁɔ̃/ |
connaîtrez /kɔ.nɛ.tʁe/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁe/ |
connaîtront /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɔ̃/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | connaîtrais /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁɛ/ |
connaîtrais /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁɛ/ |
connaîtrait /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁɛ/ |
connaîtrions /kɔ.nɛ.tʁi.jɔ̃/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁi.jɔ̃/ |
connaîtriez /kɔ.nɛ.tʁi.je/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁi.je/ |
connaîtraient /kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ or /kɔ.ne.tʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | connaisse /kɔ.nɛs/ |
connaisses /kɔ.nɛs/ |
connaisse /kɔ.nɛs/ |
connaissions /kɔ.nɛ.sjɔ̃/ or /kɔ.ne.sjɔ̃/ |
connaissiez /kɔ.nɛ.sje/ or /kɔ.ne.sje/ |
connaissent /kɔ.nɛs/ |
| imperfect2 | connusse /kɔ.nys/ |
connusses /kɔ.nys/ |
connût /kɔ.ny/ |
connussions /kɔ.ny.sjɔ̃/ |
connussiez /kɔ.ny.sje/ |
connussent /kɔ.nys/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | connais /kɔ.nɛ/ |
— | connaissons /kɔ.nɛ.sɔ̃/ or /kɔ.ne.sɔ̃/ |
connaissez /kɔ.nɛ.se/ or /kɔ.ne.se/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Conjugation of connaître (see also Appendix:French verbs)
This verb is one of a fairly small group of -re verbs that are all conjugated the same way. They are unlike other verb groups in that the 'i' is given a circumflex before a 't'.
| infinitive | simple | se connaître | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | s'être + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | se connaissant /sə kɔ.nɛ.sɑ̃/ or /sə kɔ.ne.sɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant or étant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | connu /kɔ.ny/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | me connais /mə kɔ.nɛ/ |
te connais /tə kɔ.nɛ/ |
se connaît /sə kɔ.nɛ/ |
nous connaissons /nu kɔ.nɛ.sɔ̃/ or /nu kɔ.ne.sɔ̃/ |
vous connaissez /vu kɔ.nɛ.se/ or /vu kɔ.ne.se/ |
se connaissent /sə kɔ.nɛs/ |
| imperfect | me connaissais /mə kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ or /mə kɔ.ne.sɛ/ |
te connaissais /tə kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ or /tə kɔ.ne.sɛ/ |
se connaissait /sə kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ or /sə kɔ.ne.sɛ/ |
nous connaissions /nu kɔ.nɛ.sjɔ̃/ or /nu kɔ.ne.sjɔ̃/ |
vous connaissiez /vu kɔ.nɛ.sje/ or /vu kɔ.ne.sje/ |
se connaissaient /sə kɔ.nɛ.sɛ/ or /sə kɔ.ne.sɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | me connus /mə kɔ.ny/ |
te connus /tə kɔ.ny/ |
se connut /sə kɔ.ny/ |
nous connûmes /nu kɔ.nym/ |
vous connûtes /vu kɔ.nyt/ |
se connurent /sə kɔ.nyʁ/ | |
| future | me connaîtrai /mə kɔ.nɛ.tʁe/ or /mə kɔ.ne.tʁe/ |
te connaîtras /tə kɔ.nɛ.tʁa/ or /tə kɔ.ne.tʁa/ |
se connaîtra /sə kɔ.nɛ.tʁa/ or /sə kɔ.ne.tʁa/ |
nous connaîtrons /nu kɔ.nɛ.tʁɔ̃/ or /nu kɔ.ne.tʁɔ̃/ |
vous connaîtrez /vu kɔ.nɛ.tʁe/ or /vu kɔ.ne.tʁe/ |
se connaîtront /sə kɔ.nɛ.tʁɔ̃/ or /sə kɔ.ne.tʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | me connaîtrais /mə kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ or /mə kɔ.ne.tʁɛ/ |
te connaîtrais /tə kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ or /tə kɔ.ne.tʁɛ/ |
se connaîtrait /sə kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ or /sə kɔ.ne.tʁɛ/ |
nous connaîtrions /nu kɔ.nɛ.tʁi.jɔ̃/ or /nu kɔ.ne.tʁi.jɔ̃/ |
vous connaîtriez /vu kɔ.nɛ.tʁi.je/ or /vu kɔ.ne.tʁi.je/ |
se connaîtraient /sə kɔ.nɛ.tʁɛ/ or /sə kɔ.ne.tʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of s'être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | me connaisse /mə kɔ.nɛs/ |
te connaisses /tə kɔ.nɛs/ |
se connaisse /sə kɔ.nɛs/ |
nous connaissions /nu kɔ.nɛ.sjɔ̃/ or /nu kɔ.ne.sjɔ̃/ |
vous connaissiez /vu kɔ.nɛ.sje/ or /vu kɔ.ne.sje/ |
se connaissent /sə kɔ.nɛs/ |
| imperfect2 | me connusse /mə kɔ.nys/ |
te connusses /tə kɔ.nys/ |
se connût /sə kɔ.ny/ |
nous connussions /nu kɔ.ny.sjɔ̃/ |
vous connussiez /vu kɔ.ny.sje/ |
se connussent /sə kɔ.nys/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of s'être + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of s'être + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | connais-toi /kɔ.nɛ.twa/ |
— | connaissons-nous /kɔ.nɛ.sɔ̃.nu/ or /kɔ.ne.sɔ̃.nu/ |
connaissez-vous /kɔ.nɛ.se.vu/ or /kɔ.ne.se.vu/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of s'être + past participle | — | simple imperative of s'être + past participle | simple imperative of s'être + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Conjugation of se connaître (see also Appendix:French verbs)
Derived terms
Further reading
Anagrams
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Alternative forms
- counaîte (France, Guernsey)
Etymology
From Old French conoistre, from Late Latin conōscere, from Latin cognōscere.
Verb
connaître
Derived terms
- connaître de vue (“to know by sight”)
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