saber

See also: Saber

Languages (9)

English

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Asturian • Catalan • Galician • Indonesian • Occitan • Old Occitan • Portuguese • Spanish

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Page categories

English

Pronunciation

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.bɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.bə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪbə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: sa‧ber

Noun

saber (plural sabers)

1. (American spelling) Alternative form of sabre.
2. (science fiction) Clipping of lightsaber

Verb

saber (third-person singular simple present sabers, present participle sabering, simple past and past participle sabered)

1. (American spelling) Alternative form of sabre.

Translations

sabre — see sabre

Anagrams

• bares, rabes, besra, Bears, baser, Brase, barse, bears, sabre, BSAer, Breas, Bares, braes

Asturian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin sapere (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saˈbeɾ/ [saˈβ̞eɾ]
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: sa‧ber

Verb

saber

1. to know

Conjugation

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Related terms

• sabor

Catalan

Alternative forms

• sabre, sebre (directly from Latin sapĕre)
• sapiguer (dialectal)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan saber, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [səˈβɛ]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [səˈbə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [saˈbeɾ]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

Verb

saber (first-person singular present sé, first-person singular preterite sabí, past participle sabut)

1. to know (a fact), to have knowledge
2. to know how to

Conjugation

    Conjugation of saber (second conjugation, irregular)

infinitive			saber
gerund			sabent
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		sabut		sabuda
		plural		sabuts		sabudes
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	sé	saps	sap	sabem	sabeu	saben
	imperfect	sabia	sabies	sabia	sabíem	sabíeu	sabien
	future	sabré	sabràs	sabrà	sabrem	sabreu	sabran
	preterite	sabí	saberes	sabé	sabérem	sabéreu	saberen
	conditional	sabria	sabries	sabria	sabríem	sabríeu	sabrien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	sàpiga	sàpigues	sàpiga	sapiguem	sapigueu	sàpiguen
	imperfect	sabés	sabessis	sabés	sabéssim	sabéssiu	sabessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	sàpiga	sàpiga	sapiguem	sapigueu	sàpiguen
	negative (no)	—	no sàpigues	no sàpiga	no sapiguem	no sapigueu	no sàpiguen

Derived terms

• saber greu
• sabràs dos i dos quants fan

Related terms

• sabor

Noun

saber m (plural sabers)

1. knowledge, know-how

See also

• conèixer (“to be familiar with”)

References

• “saber”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “saber”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “saber” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “saber” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese saber, from Latin sapere (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saˈbeɾ/ [s̺aˈβ̞eɾ]
• Rhymes: -eɾ

Verb

saber (first-person singular present sei, first-person singular preterite souben, past participle sabido)
saber (first-person singular present sei, first-person singular preterite soubem or soube, past participle sabido, reintegrationist norm)

1. to know (a fact)
2. to know how to do (something)

   Val máis saber que ter (proverb)

   Better to know than to have

3. to find out
4. (intransitive) to taste, to have a taste

   Sabe ben! ― It tastes good!

5. (pronominal) to like, enjoy

   A min sábeme o caldo. ― I like broth / I like this broth.

Usage notes

Like Portuguese and Spanish, Galician has two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to know”. The verb saber relates to factual knowledge and skills. In contrast, the verb coñecer relates to familiarity with people or places.

Conjugation

Currently, it is not known where the first person singular form that is currently used for the present indicative, "sei", originates from.

    Conjugation of saber (irregular)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti)	Third-person (el / ela / Vde.)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / Vdes.)
Infinitive
Impersonal	saber
Personal	saber	saberes	saber	sabermos	saberdes	saberen
Gerund
	sabendo
Past participle
Masculine	sabido			sabidos
Feminine	sabida			sabidas
Indicative
Present	sei	sabes	sabe	sabemos	sabedes	saben
Imperfect	sabía	sabías	sabía	sabiamos	sabiades	sabían
Preterite	souben	soubeches	soubo	soubemos	soubestes	souberon
Pluperfect	soubera	souberas	soubera	souberamos	souberades	souberan
Future	saberei	saberás	saberá	saberemos	saberedes	saberán
Conditional	sabería	saberías	sabería	saberiamos	saberiades	saberían
Subjunctive
Present	saiba	saibas	saiba	saibamos	saibades	saiban
Imperfect	soubese	soubeses	soubese	soubésemos	soubésedes	soubesen
Future	souber	souberes	souber	soubermos	souberdes	souberen
Imperative
Affirmative		sabe	saiba	saibamos	sabede	saiban
Negative (non)		non saibas	non saiba	non saibamos	non saibades	non saiban

    Reintegrated conjugation of saber (irregular) (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti / tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	saber
Personal	saber	saberes	saber	sabermos	saberdes	saberem
Gerund
	sabendo
Past participle
Masculine	sabido			sabidos
Feminine	sabida			sabidas
Indicative
Present	sei	sabes	sabe	sabemos	sabedes, sabeis	sabem
Imperfect	sabia	sabias	sabia	sabíamos	sabíades, sabíeis, sabíais1	sabiam
Preterite	soubem, soube	soubeste, soubeche1	soubo, soube	soubemos	soubestes	soubérom, souberam
Pluperfect	soubera	souberas	soubera	soubéramos	soubérades, soubéreis, soubérais1	souberam
Future	saberei	saberás	saberá	saberemos	saberedes, sabereis	saberám, saberão
Conditional	saberia	saberias	saberia	saberíamos	saberíades, saberíeis, saberíais1	saberiam
Subjunctive
Present	saiba	saibas	saiba	saibamos	saibades, saibais	saibam
Imperfect	soubesse	soubesses	soubesse	soubéssemos	soubéssedes, soubésseis	soubessem
Future	souber	souberes	souber	soubermos	souberdes	souberem
Imperative
Affirmative		sabe	saiba	saibamos	sabede, sabei	saibam
Negative (nom)		nom saibas	nom saiba	nom saibamos	nom saibades, nom saibais	nom saibam

¹Less recommended.

Derived terms

• seica

Related terms

• sabor

See also

• coñecer

Noun

saber m (plural saberes)

1. knowledge, know-how

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022), “saber”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018), “saber”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “saber”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “saber”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “saber”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈsabər/ [ˈsa.bər]
• Rhymes: -abər
• Syllabification: sa‧ber

Etymology 1

Noun

saber (plural saber-saber)

1. (politics) syllabic abbreviation of sapu bersih

Derived terms

• saber pungli

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Malay [Term?] (Bangka dialect).

Noun

saber (plural saber-saber)

1. (dialect) the technique of catching fish by damming a river using wood

Further reading

• “saber” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Occitan

Alternative forms

• saupre

Etymology

Inherited from Old Occitan saber, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Verb

saber

1. to know

   Antonym: ignorar

Conjugation

    Lengadocian (Central Occitan)

		simple			compound
infinitive		saber			aver sauput
gerund		sabent			use gerund of avent + past participle
past participle		sauput			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	sabi, sai	sabes, sas	sap	sabèm	sabètz	sabon
	imperfect	sabiái	sabiás	sabiá	sabiam	sabiatz	sabián
	preterite	saupèri	saupères	saupèt	saupèrem	saupèretz	saupèron
	future	sauprai	saupràs	sauprà	sauprem	saupretz	saupràn
	conditional	saupriái	saupriás	saupriá	saupriam	saupriatz	sauprián
	conditional 2nd form1
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	sàpia	sàpias	sàpia	sapiam	sapiatz	sàpian
	imperfect	saupèsse	saupèsses	saupèsse	saupèssem	saupèssetz	saupèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			sap		sapiam	sabètz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

Related terms

• sabor

Old Occitan

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).

Verb

saber

1. to taste (have a certain taste)
2. to know

Noun

saber m (oblique plural sabers, nominative singular sabers, nominative plural saber)

1. knowledge

Related terms

• sabor (noun)

Descendants

• Catalan: saber

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “sapere”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 11: S–Si, page 193

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese saber, from Latin sapere (“taste, know”).

The verb’s first-person singular conjugation reflects an original */ˈsajo/, in common with other Romance languages, of uncertain origin. The present subjunctive forms show consonant metathesis: sapiām > */ˈsajpa/ > Portuguese saiba.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ʁ)/ [saˈbe(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ʁ)/ [saˈbe(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ʁ)/ [saˈbe(χ)]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /saˈbe(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɐˈbeɾ/ [sɐˈβeɾ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɐˈbeɾ/ [sɐˈβeɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /sɐˈbe.ɾi/ [sɐˈβe.ɾi]

• (Rural Central Brazil) IPA^(key): /sɐˈbe(ɹ)/

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sa‧ber

Verb

saber (first-person singular present sei, first-person singular preterite soube, past participle sabido)

1. to know
   2. (transitive or intransitive) to be aware, to know [with direct object ‘a fact’ or que (+ indicative clause when positive or subjunctive clause when negated) ‘that ...’ or indirect question]

      Perguntaram-me a resposta, mas eu não sabia. ― They asked me the answer, but I didn’t know.

      Sei que é verdade. ― I know it’s true.

   4. (transitive) to be aware of a value or piece of information
      • 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Rocco, page 46:

        Olho-Tonto, você sabe que isso é nojento, não sabe?

        Mad-Eye, you know that this is disgusting, don't you?

      Eu sei qual é a capital da Assíria. ― I know what is the capital of Assyria.

      Ele sabe duzentos algarismos do número neperiano. ― He knows two hundred digits of Euler’s number.

   5. (catenative) to know how [with infinitive ‘to do something’]

      Não sei fazer isso, mas ela sabe. ― I don’t know how to do this, but she knows.

      Sabes falar russo? ― Can you speak Russian?

3. (intransitive) to know; to have heard [with de or sobre ‘about something’]

   Soube da explosão que houve no centro? ― Have you heard about the downtown explosion?

4. (intransitive, Portugal) to taste of/like (to have the same taste as) [with a ‘something’]

   Um bom vinho sabe a carvalho. ― A good wine tastes like oak.

5. (intransitive, Portugal) to have a pleasant taste

   Como sabe esse vinho! ― How good does this wine taste!

6. (transitive) to learn (to become informed of something)

   Eles querem saber mais sobre o projeto. ― They want to learn more about the project.

Usage notes

• saber does not mean to know in the sense of knowing someone (who they are); for that, conhecer should be used instead.
• Although nonstandard, some speakers change the conjugation for the first person singular depending on the meaning of the verb: it is conjugated as sei if it means to know, but as saibo if it means to taste. Aside from this case, all the other verb forms are homonymous.

Conjugation

    Conjugation of saber (irregular) (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	saber
Personal	saber	saberes	saber	sabermos	saberdes	saberem
Gerund
	sabendo
Past participle
Masculine	sabido			sabidos
Feminine	sabida			sabidas
Indicative
Present	sei	sabes	sabe	sabemos	sabeis	sabem
Imperfect	sabia	sabias	sabia	sabíamos	sabíeis	sabiam
Preterite	soube	soubeste	soube	soubemos	soubestes	souberam
Pluperfect	soubera	souberas	soubera	soubéramos	soubéreis	souberam
Future	saberei	saberás	saberá	saberemos	sabereis	saberão
Conditional	saberia	saberias	saberia	saberíamos	saberíeis	saberiam
Subjunctive
Present	saiba	saibas	saiba	saibamos	saibais	saibam
Imperfect	soubesse	soubesses	soubesse	soubéssemos	soubésseis	soubessem
Future	souber	souberes	souber	soubermos	souberdes	souberem
Imperative
Affirmative		sabe	saiba	saibamos	sabei	saibam
Negative (não)		não saibas	não saiba	não saibamos	não saibais	não saibam

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:saber.

Synonyms

• (to know a value): conhecer
• (to know how to do something): conseguir
• (to taste of): ter gosto de

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: sabe
• Macanese: sabe
• Macau Pidgin Portuguese: 撒㗑, 撒備, 散拜
  • → Chinese Pidgin English: savvy, sarby
• Papiamentu: sabi
• → Bislama: save
• → Krio: sabi
• → Nigerian Pidgin: sabi
• → Sranan Tongo: sabi
  • Aukan: sabi
  • Saramaccan: sábi
• → Tok Pisin: save

Noun

saber m (plural saberes)

1. knowledge; lore (intellectual understanding)

   Synonyms: conhecimento, sabedoria

Derived terms

• dar a saber
• sabe-tudo

Related terms

• sabedor
• sabedoria
• sabença
• sabichão
• sabidão
• sabido
• sábio
• sabir
• sabível
• sabor
• sapiência
• sapiente