Knowing: znati

Level 1

Znati = to know a fact or how to do something.

How It Works

Znati is regular in the present:

PersonForm
jaznam
tiznaš
on, ona, onozna
miznamo
viznate
oni, one, onaznaju

It has three common uses.

  • A fact: Znam gdje živi. I know where she lives.
  • A language or skill: Znam bosanski. Znam plivati.
  • A short answer: Ne znam. I do not know.

To say you know a person, careful speech and writing use poznavati: Poznajem Lejlu. In everyday speech znati is common with people too (Znaš Amira?), so both exist. A good start is to use znati for facts and skills.

Examples (5)

  1. Znam bosanski.

    I know Bosnian.

    Znati with a language means you can speak it.

  2. Ne znam gdje je Ajla.

    I do not know where Ajla is.

    Ne comes right before the verb.

  3. Znaš li plivati?

    Can you swim?

    Znati + infinitive means know how to.

  4. Znamo put do Jajca.

    We know the way to Jajce.

    Znati can be used with a thing.

  5. Djeca znaju sve pjesme.

    The children know all the songs.

    Znaju is the oni form.

Common Mistakes

  • Using znam for a skill without the infinitive.

    Znam plivam.
    Znam plivati.

    After znati, the second verb is in the infinitive.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Knowing: znatiLevel 1

Learn This First

Znati is a present-tense verb.

Words in This Pattern

znatipoznavati