Znati ("to know") is the verb for knowing facts and knowing how to do something — the kind of knowledge that lives in your head as information or skill. Croatian splits "know" across three verbs where English uses one, so the central job of this page is not just the (very regular) conjugation but knowing when znati is the right choice versus poznavati ("be acquainted with a person/place") and umjeti ("be able to, have the knack"). Get that three-way split and you avoid the single most common "know" error English speakers make. The full comparison lives on znati vs poznavati and znati, poznavati, umjeti.
Aspect
Znati is imperfective — knowing is a state, and states do not "complete", so znati has no everyday perfective partner of its own. To express the event of coming to know / finding out, Croatian switches to the prefixed perfective saznati ("to find out, to learn"): Saznao sam da dolaze ("I found out they're coming"). So znati = the lasting state of knowing; saznati = the moment you learn it. This kind of state-versus-event split is sketched on aspect overview.
Present tense
Znati is a plain a-class verb: stem zna- + -m, -š, ∅, -mo, -te, -ju. The 3rd-singular is the bare stem zna, and the 3rd-plural is znaju.
| Person | Form | Ending | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | znam | -m | I know |
| ti | znaš | -š | you know |
| on/ona/ono | zna | ∅ | he/she/it knows |
| mi | znamo | -mo | we know |
| vi | znate | -te | you know |
| oni/one/ona | znaju | -ju | they know |
Znaš li gdje je najbliža ljekarna?
Do you know where the nearest pharmacy is?
Ne znam, nikad nisam bio ondje.
I don't know, I've never been there.
Svi znaju da je to istina.
Everyone knows it's true.
The l-participle
Regular for an a-class verb: stem zna- + the l-participle endings. The masculine znao shows the vocalised -l.
| Gender / number | Form |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | znao |
| feminine singular | znala |
| neuter singular | znalo |
| masculine plural | znali |
| feminine plural | znale |
| neuter plural | znala |
Perfect tense (perfekt)
Clitic biti + the l-participle. The imperfective past of znati most often means "knew / used to know".
| Person | Masculine subject | Feminine subject |
|---|---|---|
| ja | znao sam | znala sam |
| ti | znao si | znala si |
| on / ona | znao je | znala je |
| mi | znali smo | znale smo |
| vi | znali ste | znale ste |
| oni / one | znali su | znale su |
Oduvijek sam znala da ćeš uspjeti.
I always knew you'd make it. — feminine speaker.
Nisi znao za sastanak? Poslao sam svima mail.
You didn't know about the meeting? I emailed everyone.
Future I (futur prvi)
The infinitive znati drops its final -i before the htjeti clitic: znat ću.
| Person | Infinitive first | Clitic first |
|---|---|---|
| ja | znat ću | … ću znati |
| ti | znat ćeš | … ćeš znati |
| on/ona/ono | znat će | … će znati |
| mi | znat ćemo | … ćemo znati |
| vi | znat ćete | … ćete znati |
| oni/one/ona | znat će | … će znati |
Nazovi me za sat vremena, do tada ću znati više.
Call me in an hour, by then I'll know more.
Imperative
a-class imperative: znaj, znajmo, znajte. It is mostly used in the figurative "know / be aware that…", a slightly emphatic way of asserting something.
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ti | znaj | know! / be aware! |
| mi | znajmo | let's bear in mind |
| vi | znajte | know! / be aware! (pl./formal) |
Znaj da uvijek možeš računati na mene.
Know that you can always count on me.
Conditional I (kondicional prvi)
bih-clitics + l-participle. Very common in the polite znao/znala bih ("I would know") and in kad bih znao ("if I knew").
| Person | Form (masc.) |
|---|---|
| ja | znao bih |
| ti | znao bi |
| on/ona/ono | znao/znala/znalo bi |
| mi | znali bismo |
| vi | znali biste |
| oni/one/ona | znali bi |
Kad bih barem znao njezin broj, odmah bih je nazvao.
If only I knew her number, I'd call her right away.
Other forms
- Passive participle: znan, znana, znano ("known") exists but is literary/archaic in modern use; everyday Croatian prefers the adjective poznat ("(well-)known") instead. You will mostly meet znan in the fixed phrase manje znan ("less known") or in older texts.
- Present verbal adverb: znajući ("knowing"), genuinely common: Znajući njega, sigurno će zakasniti ("Knowing him, he'll definitely be late").
Znajući koliko ti je stalo, nisam htio ništa reći.
Knowing how much it meant to you, I didn't want to say anything. — verbal adverb.
Key uses and government
1. Know a fact: znati + accusative or da-clause
The thing known can be a noun in the accusative (znati odgovor — "know the answer") or, far more often, a whole da-clause (znati da… — "know that…").
Znaš li njezin broj telefona?
Do you know her phone number? — accusative object.
Znam da nije lako, ali vrijedi pokušati.
I know it's not easy, but it's worth a try. — 'znati da' + clause.
2. Know how: znati + infinitive
To say you know how to do something, use znati + the bare infinitive — no extra "how" word. This is the construction English needs "know how to" for, and Croatian does it with the infinitive alone (you may also use znati + da + present, discussed on da vs the infinitive).
Znam plivati, ali ne znam roniti.
I know how to swim, but I don't know how to dive.
Zna li tvoj brat voziti motor?
Does your brother know how to ride a motorbike?
3. Znati + question word
For "know who/what/where/when…", use znati + an embedded question (tko, što, gdje, kada, kako, zašto).
Nitko ne zna kada će stići vlak.
Nobody knows when the train will arrive.
Common Mistakes
❌ Znam Anu već deset godina.
Wrong verb — knowing a person is 'poznavati': 'Poznajem Anu'. 'Znati' is for facts and skills.
✅ Poznajem Anu već deset godina.
I've known Ana for ten years.
❌ Znam kako plivati.
Calque of 'know how to' — Croatian uses 'znati' + bare infinitive, no 'kako'.
✅ Znam plivati.
I know how to swim.
❌ Oni znadu odgovor.
Use the regular a-class 3pl 'znaju'; the variant 'znadu' is archaic/marked and best avoided.
✅ Oni znaju odgovor.
They know the answer.
❌ Jučer sam znao da dolaze.
Aspect/sense mismatch — 'finding out' at a point is the perfective 'saznati', not the state 'znati'.
✅ Jučer sam saznao da dolaze.
Yesterday I found out they're coming.
❌ Znati ću sutra.
Incorrect — before the future clitic the infinitive drops its -i: 'znat ću'.
✅ Znat ću sutra.
I'll know tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
- Znati is imperfective (a state); the event "find out" is the perfective saznati.
- It conjugates as a clean a-class verb: znam, znaš, zna, znamo, znate, znaju.
- Government: accusative (a fact), da-clause (znati da…), bare infinitive for "know how" (znam plivati), or an embedded question.
- Do not use znati for people or places — that is poznavati; ability "manage to" is umjeti.
- The everyday "known" adjective is poznat, not the literary participle znan.
Now practice Croatian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- Present Tense: -a- VerbsA1 — The largest, most regular present conjugation.
- Knowing: znati, poznavati, umjetiB1 — Three verbs for English 'know'.
- znati vs poznavati (to know)B1 — Which 'know' verb to use — znati for facts and skills (know that / know how) vs poznavati for being acquainted with a person, place or body of work.
- da + present vs the InfinitiveB1 — When to use the infinitive and when to use a da + present clause after modal and volition verbs — the same-subject choice, the different-subject rule, and the register split.
- poznavati / upoznati (to know / get to know)B1 — Knowing a person or place — imperfective 'poznavati' (poznajem, 'be acquainted with') and perfective 'upoznati' ('get to know, meet'), versus 'znati' for facts.
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Why nearly every verb comes in an imperfective/perfective pair.