Connaître meaning

G B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Connaître meaning

The question: Conjugate connaître (to meet) in the passé composé.

The answer: I met Leila at University = J'ai connu Leila à la fac.

I thought connaître meant "to know" ? I can't find any references to it meaning "to meet".

This question relates to:French lesson "Conjugate paraître/connaître and derivatives (+ avoir) - except apparaître and naître - in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)"

Asked 4 years ago

Like0Answer4

CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi G,

'Connaître' can mean, to know from somewhere, in other words, that's where you met.

Hope this helps!

Like14 years ago

G B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thanks, just what I need...another verb for "to meet". ;-)

Like14 years ago

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Well, connaître does not strictly mean "to meet".

Je la connais au travail. -- I know her from work. Yes, that implies that you met her at work but the translation with "to meet" seems a bit loose to me. You cannot use it in the sense of "Let's meet!".

Like14 years ago

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

It can mean to meet someone for the first time. Particularly when it's in the passé composé it is very often translated as "met".

Like04 years ago

G B. asked: