znati vs poznavati (to know) | Croatian Grammar

English „know" hides a distinction that many languages mark with two separate verbs — and Croatian is one of them. znati is knowing facts („I know that…", „I know where…") and having skills / know-how („I know how to swim"). poznavati (perfective poznati) is being acquainted with someone or something — a person, a place, a body of work. The split mirrors French savoir vs connaître and German wissen vs kennen, so if you've met those, the logic will feel familiar. The trap for English speakers is that one word covers both, so you must consciously decide each time. For the full conjugations see znati and poznavati.

The quick test

Translate your „know" into one of these and the verb chooses itself:

„I know that / where / how …" → znati
„I'm acquainted with (a person / place / work)" → poznavati

You mean…	Verb	Example
know a fact	znati	Znam odgovor.
know that …	znati	Znam da je kasno.
know where/how/who …	znati	Znam gdje je.
know how to (a skill)	znati + inf.	Znam plivati.
be acquainted with a person	poznavati	Poznajem ga.
know a place / city	poznavati	Poznaješ li Split?
know an author's work	poznavati	Poznaje Krležu.

znati — facts and skills

Use znati for information you hold in your head and for abilities you have. Facts come as a noun object (Znam odgovor) or, very often, as a clause introduced by da, gdje, tko, kako, zašto (Znam da…, Znam gdje…). Skills come as znati + infinitive (Znam plivati „I know how to swim").

Znam odgovor, ali ti neću reći.

I know the answer, but I won't tell you. — knowing a fact (noun object): 'znati'.

Znam da je već kasno, idem odmah.

I know it's already late, I'll go right away. — 'znati' + 'da'-clause for a known fact.

Znaš li gdje je najbliža ljekarna?

Do you know where the nearest pharmacy is? — 'znati' + 'gdje'-clause.

Znam plivati, ali ne znam roniti.

I know how to swim, but I don't know how to dive. — 'znati' + infinitive = a skill / know-how.

💡

Whenever your sentence could continue with „… that", „… where", „… who", „… how", or „… how to", you want znati. It governs both a fact-clause (Znam da…, Znam tko…) and the skill-infinitive (Znam voziti „I can drive"). It does not mean being acquainted with someone.

poznavati — acquaintance with people, places, works

Use poznavati when „know" means be familiar / acquainted with. Its object is in the accusative: a person you know, a city you know your way around, an author whose work you know. This is about familiarity built up over time, not facts you can state.

Poznajem ga još iz škole.

I've known him since school. — being acquainted with a person: 'poznavati' + accusative 'ga'.

Poznaješ li Split? Možeš nas provesti?

Do you know Split? Could you show us around? — knowing a place (finding your way around): 'poznavati'.

Dobro poznaje Krležu i citira ga napamet.

She knows Krleža well and quotes him by heart. — knowing an author's work: 'poznavati' + accusative 'Krležu'.

Poznajemo se već godinama.

We've known each other for years. — reciprocal 'poznavati se' (acquaintance between people).

Note the present-tense stem: poznavati gives poznajem, poznaješ, poznaje… (the -va- drops in the present). Beginners often leave the -v- in (*poznavam) — see the conjugation table on poznavati.

The decisive contrast: Znam tko je vs Poznajem ga

These two sit right on the dividing line. Znam tko je („I know who he is") is a fact — you can state his identity — and takes znati with a clause. Poznajem ga („I know him") is acquaintance — you've actually met him, you have a relationship — and takes poznavati with an accusative object. You can easily know who someone is without knowing them, and Croatian forces you to choose.

Znam tko je, ali ga ne poznajem osobno.

I know who he is, but I don't know him personally. — 'znati' for the fact of his identity, 'poznavati' for personal acquaintance.

Ne poznajem ga, ali znam da je slavan.

I don't know him, but I know he's famous. — acquaintance ('poznavati') vs fact ('znati da').

This pair is the clearest demonstration of why a single English „know" can't be trusted: the same person is the object, yet the meaning — and the verb — flips depending on whether you mean acquaintance or fact.

Knowing a language: both verbs, different angles

Languages sit interestingly on the border. Znati + a language name means you can speak / use it — it's framed as a skill: Znam hrvatski („I know Croatian / I can speak Croatian"). Poznavati with a language points instead at familiarity with its structure / literature — more „I'm acquainted with it" than „I can speak it", and it's far less common in everyday talk.

Znam hrvatski i malo talijanski.

I know Croatian and a little Italian. — 'znati' frames a language as a usable skill.

Dobro poznaje gramatiku, ali ne govori tečno.

She knows the grammar well but doesn't speak fluently. — 'poznavati' = acquaintance with the system, not the ability to use it.

💡

For „I speak / I know" a language in normal conversation, use znati: Znaš li engleski? („Do you know / speak English?"). Save poznavati for talking about familiarity with a field, a body of work, or a system — poznavati povijest („to know history"), poznavati grad („to know the city").

A useful overlap: znati za vs poznavati

There is one neat near-synonym worth knowing. Znati za (literally „know about / know of") means you are aware of the existence of something or someone — which is weaker than the acquaintance of poznavati. Znam za njega („I've heard of him / I know of him") is not Poznajem ga („I know him"). English „know of" vs „know" tracks this exactly.

Znam za taj restoran, ali nikad nisam bio.

I know of that restaurant, but I've never been. — 'znati za' = awareness of existence, weaker than acquaintance.

Common Mistakes

❌ Znam ga već godinama. (meaning 'I've known him for years')

Incorrect — for acquaintance with a person use 'poznavati', not 'znati'.

✅ Poznajem ga već godinama.

I've known him for years.

❌ Poznajem da je kasno.

Incorrect — a fact-clause takes 'znati', not 'poznavati': 'Znam da je kasno'.

✅ Znam da je kasno.

I know it's late.

❌ Poznajem plivati.

Incorrect — a skill is 'znati' + infinitive: 'Znam plivati'.

✅ Znam plivati.

I know how to swim.

❌ Znaš li Split?

Incorrect — knowing a city (being familiar with it) is 'poznavati': 'Poznaješ li Split?'.

✅ Poznaješ li Split?

Do you know Split?

❌ Poznavam ga dobro.

Form error — the present drops '-va-': 'poznajem', not 'poznavam'.

✅ Poznajem ga dobro.

I know him well.

Key Takeaways

znati = knowing facts (Znam odgovor, Znam da…, Znam gdje je, Znam tko je) and skills (Znam plivati — znati
- infinitive).
poznavati (pf. poznati) = being acquainted with a person, place, or body of work, taking an accusative object (Poznajem ga, Poznaješ li Split?, Poznaje Krležu).
Quick test: „I know that / where / how (to)" → znati; „I'm acquainted with" → poznavati.
The decisive pair: Znam tko je (fact — I know his identity) vs Poznajem ga (acquaintance — I've actually met him).
Watch the present stem of poznavati: poznajem, poznaješ, poznaje — the -va- drops; never *poznavam.

Now practice Croatian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Croatian→