French Phrases to Know
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The French verb savoir, “to know,” is found in many idiomatic expressions, including namely, to be a good listener, and know-it-all. Learn these and dozens of other French expressions featuring savoir.
Savoir translations
- to know
- to know a fact
- to know by heart
- to know how to (as a semi-auxiliary verb)
- to be able to (in the conditional)
- to learn, find out, realize (in the passé composé)
Savoir expressions
| à savoir | that is, namely, i.e. | ||
| (à) savoir si ça va lui plaire ! | there’s no knowing whether he’ll like it or not! | ||
| en savoir trop (long) | to know too much | ||
| savoir bien | to know very well, be very aware of/that | ||
| savoir bien se défendre | to be quite capable of looking after oneself | ||
| savoir, c’est pouvoir | knowledge is power | ||
| savoir éclairer et rassurer | to prove both enlightening and reassuring | ||
| savoir écouter | to be a good listener | ||
| savoir gré à quelqu’un de + past infinitive | to be grateful to someone for … | ||
| savoir quelque chose de/par quelqu’un | to hear something from someone | ||
| savoir vieillir | to know how to grow old | ||
| se savoir + adjective | to know that oneself is + adjective | ||
| ne pas savoir que / quoi faire pour … | to be at a loss as to how to … | ||
| ne plus savoir ce qu’on dit | to not know/realize what one is saying, to not be aware of what one is saying |
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| ne savoir à quel saint se vouer | to not know which way to turn | ||
| ne savoir aucun gré à quelqu’un de + past infinitive | to not be at all grateful to someone for … | ||
| ne savoir où donner de la tête | to not know whether one is coming or going | ||
| ne savoir où se mettre | to not know where to put oneself | ||
| Ça finira bien par se savoir | It’ll get out in the end | ||
| Ça, je sais (le) faire | Now that I can do | ||
| Ça se saurait si c’était vrai | If it were true people would know about it | ||
| C’est difficile à savoir | It’s hard to know | ||
| croire tout savoir | to think that one knows everything/knows it all | ||
| Dieu sait pourquoi … | God knows why … | ||
| Dieu sait si … | God knows how (much) … | ||
| Dieu seul le sait | God only knows | ||
| et que sais-je encore | and I don’t know what else | ||
| faire savoir à quelqu’un que … | to inform someone, let someone know, make it known … | ||
| Faudrait savoir ! | (informal) | make up your mind, it’s about time we knew | |
| Il a toujours su y faire / s’y prendre | He’s always known how to do things (the right way) | ||
| Il faut savoir attendre | You have to learn to be patient / to wait | ||
| Il faut savoir se contenter de peu | You have to learn to be content with little | ||
| Il n’a rien voulu savoir | He didn’t want to know | ||
| Il ne sait ni A ni B | He doesn’t have a clue about anything | ||
| Il ne sait pas ce qu’il veut | He doesn’t know what he wants, He doesn’t know his own mind |
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| Il ne sait rien de rien | He doesn’t have a clue about anything | ||
| Il y a je ne sais combien de temps que … | It’s been I don’t know how long since, I don’t how long it’s been since … |
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| Je crois savoir que … | I believe/understand that …, I am led to believe/understand that … |
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| Je n’en sais rien | I don’t know, I have no idea | ||
| Je ne sache pas que … | I wasn’t aware/I didn’t know that … | ||
| Je ne sais où | Goodness knows where | ||
| Je ne sais plus ce que je dis | I no longer know what I’m saying | ||
| je ne sais quoi de + adjective | something (odd, familiar, etc) | ||
| Je ne saurais pas vous répondre / vous renseigner | I’m afraid I can’t answer you / give you any information | ||
| Je ne saurais vous exprimer toute ma gratitude | (formal) | I shall never be able to express my gratitude | |
| Je ne savais que dire / faire | I didn’t know what to say / do | ||
| Je ne savais quoi dire / faire | I didn’t know what to say / do | ||
| Je ne veux pas le savoir | (informal) | I don’t want to know | |
| J’en sais quelque chose | (informal) | I can relate to that | |
| Je sais bien, mais … | I know, but … | ||
| Je sais ce que je sais | I know what I know | ||
| Je voudrais en savoir davantage | I’d like to know more about it | ||
| Monsieur je-sais-tout Madame je-sais-tout Mademoiselle je-sais-tout |
(informal) | smart-alec, know-it-all | |
| ne rien vouloir savoir | to turn a deaf hear, not want to hear about it | ||
| l’objet que vous savez | you-know-what | ||
| On ne sait jamais | You never know | ||
| Oui, mais sachez que … | Yes, but you should know that … | ||
| pas que je sache | not as far as I know, not to my knowledge | ||
| la personne que vous savez | you-know-who | ||
| pleurer tout ce qu’on savait | (informal) | to cry for all one is worth, to cry one’s eyes out | |
| pour autant que je sache | as far as I know, to the best of my knowledge | ||
| que je sache | as far as I know, to the best of my knowledge | ||
| Qu’en savez-vous? | How do you know? What do you know about it? | ||
| Qui sait ? | Who knows? | ||
| reste à savoir | it remains to be seen | ||
| Sachez (bien) que jamais je n’accepterai ! | I’ll have you know/Let me tell you I will never accept! | ||
| Sachons-le bien, si … | Let’s be quite clear, if … | ||
| sans le savoir | without knowing/realizing (it), unknowingly, unwittingly | ||
| si j’avais su | had I known, if I had known | ||
| Tout ce que tu as toujours voulu savoir sur … | Everything you’ve always wanted to know about … | ||
| Tu en sais, des choses ! | (informal) | You certainly know a thing or two, don’t you! | |
| tu sais | (interjection) | you know | |
| Tu sais quoi ? | (informal) | You know what? | |
| Va savoir ! | Who knows?! | ||
| Vous n’êtes pas sans savoir que … | (formal) | You are not unaware / ignorant (of the fact) that … | |
| Vous savez la nouvelle ? | Have you heard / Do you know the news? | ||
| le savoir | learning, knowledge | ||
| le savoir-être | interpersonal skills | ||
| le savoir-faire | know-how, expertise | ||
| le savoir-vivre | manners |
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