Conjugation of saber | Catalan Grammar

Saber means “to know” when the object is a fact, an answer, information, or a skill. Catalan normally uses conèixer, not saber, for being acquainted with a person, place, or work; that contrast is developed on saber versus conèixer. Saber is irregular in several high-frequency zones, but those zones form a compact family: sé, sàpiga, sabré, and sabut.

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Learn the principal parts sé – sabia – sabé – sabré – sàpiga – sabés – sabut. Each one predicts a whole row, and the accent in sé or sàpiga is part of the form.

Nonfinite forms

Form	Catalan	English guide
Infinitive	saber	to know
Perfect infinitive	haver sabut	to have known / found out
Gerund	sabent	knowing
Perfect gerund	havent sabut	having known / found out
Participle	sabut; sabuda, sabuts, sabudes	known

The standard participle is sabut. Analogical sapigut is heard (informal, especially Central Catalan), but it is nonstandard; use sabut in standard speech and writing. After haver, the participle is normally invariable: elles ho han sabut avui. The agreeing forms are adjectival or passive: una notícia sabuda per tothom.

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	sé	saps	sap	sabem	sabeu	saben
Imperfect	sabia	sabies	sabia	sabíem	sabíeu	sabien
Periphrastic past	vaig saber	vas saber	va saber	vam saber	vau saber	van saber
Simple past	sabí	saberes	sabé	sabérem	sabéreu	saberen
Future	sabré	sabràs	sabrà	sabrem	sabreu	sabran
Conditional	sabria	sabries	sabria	sabríem	sabríeu	sabrien

Present sé is a unique monosyllable. Its accent distinguishes the verb from unstressed se: Sé que se'n va demà “I know that she is leaving tomorrow.” The remaining present forms keep sab-. There is no incoative extension: sabeixo and sabeixes are impossible.

The ordinary conversational past is vaig saber. With saber, a bounded past often refers to the moment information became known: Ho vaig saber dilluns is naturally “I found out on Monday.” The imperfect ho sabia presents knowledge as an existing state. The synthetic past is chiefly (formal/literary) in much Central usage, while remaining alive in some Valencian and Balearic speech (regional).

Future and conditional use shortened sabr-, never saber-. This is inherited irregularity rather than a productive spelling rule.

Sé on han deixat la clau, però no sé qui l'ha trobada.

I know where they left the key, but I don't know who found it.

Quan vivíem al poble, tothom sabia a quina hora passava l'autobús.

When we lived in the village, everyone knew what time the bus came.

Vaig saber la notícia mentre esperava el tren de Girona.

I found out the news while I was waiting for the train from Girona.

Quan publiquin la llista, sabrem si ens han concedit la beca.

When they publish the list, we'll know whether we have been awarded the grant.

Compound tenses and subjunctive

All compound forms use haver + sabut. The forms below give the complete productive compound system; the past anterior is (formal/literary), and its periphrastic counterpart is still more restricted.

Indicative tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present perfect	he sabut	has sabut	ha sabut	hem sabut	heu sabut	han sabut
Pluperfect	havia sabut	havies sabut	havia sabut	havíem sabut	havíeu sabut	havien sabut
Past anterior	haguí sabut	hagueres sabut	hagué sabut	haguérem sabut	haguéreu sabut	hagueren sabut
Future perfect	hauré sabut	hauràs sabut	haurà sabut	haurem sabut	haureu sabut	hauran sabut
Conditional perfect	hauria sabut	hauries sabut	hauria sabut	hauríem sabut	hauríeu sabut	haurien sabut

Subjunctive tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	sàpiga	sàpigues	sàpiga	sapiguem	sapigueu	sàpiguen
Imperfect	sabés	sabessis	sabés	sabéssim	sabéssiu	sabessin
Present perfect	hagi sabut	hagis sabut	hagi sabut	hàgim sabut	hàgiu sabut	hagin sabut
Pluperfect	hagués sabut	haguessis sabut	hagués sabut	haguéssim sabut	haguéssiu sabut	haguessin sabut

The stem sàpig-/sapigu- belongs only to the present subjunctive and the corresponding imperative; the imperfect returns to sab-. English normally leaves “know” unchanged in “I know” and “I want you to know,” whereas Catalan contrasts sé with vull que sàpigues.

M'alegra que hàgiu sabut reaccionar amb tanta calma.

I'm glad you knew how to react so calmly.

Si sabessis el que ha costat trobar recanvis, no el llençaries.

If you knew how hard it was to find spare parts, you wouldn't throw it away.

Three additional periphrastic rows complete the reference. The subjunctive rows have restricted (regional/formal) distribution; most everyday contexts use sabés or hagués sabut instead.

Periphrastic tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Indicative past anterior	vaig haver sabut	vas haver sabut	va haver sabut	vam haver sabut	vau haver sabut	van haver sabut
Subjunctive past	vagi saber	vagis saber	vagi saber	vàgim saber	vàgiu saber	vagin saber
Subjunctive past anterior	vagi haver sabut	vagis haver sabut	vagi haver sabut	vàgim haver sabut	vàgiu haver sabut	vagin haver sabut

Imperative, weak pronouns, and syntax

Addressee	Affirmative	Negative
tu	sàpigues	no sàpigues
vostè	sàpiga	no sàpiga
nosaltres	sapiguem	no sapiguem
vosaltres	sapigueu	no sapigueu
vostès	sàpiguen	no sàpiguen

Commands meaning literally “know!” are uncommon, but these forms appear naturally in sàpigues que... and formal sàpiga que.... Affirmative commands attach a pronoun (sàpigues-ho); negative commands place it before the verb (no ho sàpigues).

Direct ho replaces a fact or clause: Ja ho sé. Partitive en replaces a complement introduced by de or expresses expertise: En sap molt, de micologia. Neither is part of a pronominal citation form. By contrast, saber-se can mean knowing something by heart or knowing it thoroughly: se sap el poema. Removing se changes the focus, and it is not a freely decorative pronoun.

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Ask what kind of “knowing” is involved: a fact or skill selects saber; acquaintance with a person, place, or work selects conèixer; memorized mastery often selects saber-se.

—Saps arreglar una cremallera? —Sí, però necessito unes alicates petites.

—Do you know how to fix a zipper? —Yes, but I need small pliers.

Ja ho sé, que demà tanqueu abans; per això vinc avui.

I already know you're closing earlier tomorrow; that's why I'm coming today.

La Berta se sap tots els camins del massís de memòria.

Berta knows all the mountain-range trails by heart.

Core constructions and regional standards

Use saber + infinitive directly for an acquired skill: sap conduir. Do not insert com merely because English says “know how.” Saber com funciona is different: there com introduces the manner in which something works. With facts, saber que, saber si, and an interrogative word are ordinary: sé que ve; no sé si vindrà; saps on viu?

The impersonal-feeling expression saber greu uses an experiencer dative: Em sap greu means “I'm sorry / I regret it.” The subject can be a clause: Em sap greu que no puguis venir. Catalan does not use saber a for taste in the Spanish manner; say tenir gust de or fer gust de according to context.

Em sap molt greu haver-te fet esperar sota la pluja.

I'm very sorry to have kept you waiting in the rain.

Aquest brou té gust de farigola, no pas de romaní.

This broth tastes of thyme, not rosemary.

(Regional: Valencian) the present subjunctive has sàpia, sàpies, sàpia, sapiem, sapieu, sàpien, with corresponding imperatives. Valencian also has the imperfect-subjunctive series sabera.... These belong to a coherent regional standard; do not mix individual cells randomly with the general sàpiga paradigm.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jo sabeixo la resposta, però no la vull dir.

Incorrect—saber is not an incoative verb.

✅ Jo sé la resposta, però no la vull dir.

I know the answer, but I don't want to say it.

❌ La meva cosina sap a la nova directora.

Incorrect—acquaintance with a person requires conèixer, with no personal a.

✅ La meva cosina coneix la nova directora.

My cousin knows the new director.

❌ No sé com nedar gaire bé.

Incorrect for a basic skill claim—do not calque English ‘know how to.’

✅ No sé nedar gaire bé.

I don't know how to swim very well.

❌ Espero que saps guardar el secret.

Incorrect—the hoped-for knowledge is nonasserted and requires the subjunctive.

✅ Espero que sàpigues guardar el secret.

I hope you know how to keep the secret.

❌ Ho he sapigut aquest matí per la ràdio.

Nonstandard—the participle of saber is sabut.

✅ Ho he sabut aquest matí per la ràdio.

I found out this morning on the radio.

Key Takeaways

Anchor the paradigm with sé, sàpiga, sabré, and sabut. Use saber for information and skills, conèixer for acquaintance, and saber + infinitive without an inserted com. Treat ho sé, en sap molt, and lexical saber-se as distinct clitic patterns. Use standard sabut rather than colloquial, nonstandard sapigut.

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