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saber
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Saber
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)
- (American spelling) Alternative form of sabre.
- (science fiction) Clipping of lightsaber
Verb
saber (third-person singular simple present sabers, present participle sabering, simple past and past participle sabered)
- (American spelling) Alternative form of sabre.
Translations
sabre — see sabre
Anagrams
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Asturian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Verb
saber
- to know
Conjugation
This entry needs an inflection-table template.
Related terms
Catalan
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Old Catalan saber, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).
Pronunciation
Verb
saber (first-person singular present sé, first-person singular preterite sabí, past participle sabut)
Conjugation
Derived terms
Related terms
Noun
saber m (plural sabers)
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.
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Galician
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese saber, from Latin sapere (“taste, know”).
Pronunciation
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)
- to know (a fact)
- to know how to do (something)
- Val máis saber que ter (proverb)
- Better to know than to have
- to find out
- (intransitive) to taste, to have a taste
- Sabe ben! ― It tastes good!
- (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.
1Less recommended.
Derived terms
Related terms
See also
Noun
saber m (plural saberes)
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
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Indonesian
Pronunciation
- (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ˈsabər/ [ˈsa.bər]
- Rhymes: -abər
- Syllabification: sa‧ber
Etymology 1
Noun
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Malay [Term?] (Bangka dialect).
Noun
- (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.
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Occitan
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Old Occitan saber, from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).
Pronunciation
Verb
saber
Conjugation
Related terms
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Old Occitan
Etymology
Inherited from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).
Verb
saber
Noun
saber m (oblique plural sabers, nominative singular sabers, nominative plural saber)
Related terms
- sabor (noun)
Descendants
- Catalan: saber
References
- Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “sapere”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 11: S–Si, page 193
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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
Verb
saber (first-person singular present sei, first-person singular preterite soube, past participle sabido)
- to know
- (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.
- (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.
- (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?
- (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]
- (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?
- (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.
- (intransitive, Portugal) to have a pleasant taste
- Como sabe esse vinho! ― How good does this wine taste!
- (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
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:saber.
Synonyms
Descendants
Noun
saber m (plural saberes)
- knowledge; lore (intellectual understanding)
- Synonyms: conhecimento, sabedoria
Derived terms
- dar a saber
- sabe-tudo
Related terms
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Spanish
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