other N5 common casualpolitewritten
知る — to know
知る ・ しる
Builds on ている
Meaning
- to come to know / to find out — the moment knowledge is acquired; the state 'to know' is 知っている
Key sentence
その話はもう知っている。
I already know about that.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Standalone verb (u-verb) | 知る → 知っている (know) / 知らない (don't know) | 彼の名前を知っている (I know his name) |
Examples
彼の電話番号を知っていますか。
Do you know his phone number?
その事故をニュースで知った。
I learned about the accident from the news.
「田中さんは?」「さあ、知らない。」
"Where's Tanaka?" "No idea."
When you can't use it
- To say 'I know,' use 知っている — the resulting state — never the plain 知る, which means 'to come to know.' But the negative is 知らない, NOT 知っていない. This affirmative-vs-negative asymmetry (知っている / 知らない) is the classic learner trap.
Easily confused with
Notes
- 知る = to have the information; 分かる = to understand or grasp it. You can 知っている a fact without 分かる-ing why it's true.
See 知る in real sentences
Jengo shows 知る the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.