Kennen is the Dutch verb for knowing in the sense of acquaintance — being familiar with a person, a city, a song, a recipe, a skill. It pairs with weten (knowing a fact) to cover the ground that English flattens into the single word "know." The good news after the irregular verbs in this group: kennen is a completely regular weak verb. Once you know the weak-verb rules, every form falls out automatically — the past is kende/kenden, the participle gekend, no surprises. This page gives the full paradigm and nails down the kennen-vs-weten line that decides which "know" you need.
Principal parts
These four forms drive the rest, and for kennen they are entirely predictable. Kennen is a regular weak verb: the past adds -de/-den to the stem, and the participle is ge- + stem + -d.
| Infinitive | Simple past (sg.) | Past participle | Perfect auxiliary |
|---|---|---|---|
| kennen | kende | gekend | hebben |
Classification: weak (regular). The stem ken ends in -n, a voiced sound, so the past takes the -de ending (not -te) — ken + de → kende — and the participle takes -d: ge + ken + d → gekend. This is the textbook weak pattern; if you can conjugate wonen → woonde → gewoond, you can conjugate kennen.
Present tense
The stem is ken (drop the -nen, leaving a single n — Dutch spelling shortens kennen to ken, never kenn). The jij/hij form adds -t: kent. The plural is the infinitive kennen.
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | ken | I know |
| jij / je | kent | you know |
| u | kent | you know (formal) |
| hij / zij / het | kent | he / she / it knows |
| wij / we | kennen | we know |
| jullie | kennen | you (pl.) know |
| zij / ze | kennen | they know |
When jij follows the verb, the -t drops: ken jij?, never kent jij. With u the -t stays: kent u?.
Ik ken haar nog van de middelbare school.
I know her from secondary school. The 'ik' form is plain 'ken'.
Simple past: kende and kenden — fully regular
The past is the regular weak kende (singular) / kenden (plural). Because the stem ends in the voiced -n, you take the -de/-den ending (the "soft" choice in the 't kofschip rule — voiceless stems take -te, everything else -de).
| Person | Past form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik / jij / u / hij / zij / het | kende | knew |
| wij / jullie / zij (pl.) | kenden | knew |
Contrast this with weten's irregular wist/wisten: kennen is the easy, predictable one in the pair.
Vroeger kende iedereen in het dorp elkaar.
In the old days everyone in the village knew each other. Regular singular past 'kende'.
The perfect: hebben + gekend
Kennen takes hebben in the perfect, with the regular participle gekend (ge- + ken + d).
| Person | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|
| ik | heb gekend | I have known |
| jij / u | hebt gekend | you have known |
| hij / zij / het | heeft gekend | he/she/it has known |
| wij / jullie / zij | hebben gekend | we/you/they have known |
Ik heb hem goed gekend, jaren geleden.
I knew him well, years ago. Perfect 'heb ... gekend'.
Imperative
The imperative is the bare stem ken, most familiar from the proverb Ken jezelf ("Know thyself") and the encouragement Ken je klassieken ("Know your classics").
| Form | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ken! | bare imperative (rare on its own) | Know! |
| Ken jezelf. | proverb (literary) | Know thyself. |
| Ken je klassieken. | set phrase (informal) | Know your classics. |
Kennen vs weten: which "know"?
This is the distinction that decides the whole verb. Kennen takes a direct object you're acquainted with — a person, place, thing, or skill. Weten takes a fact or an embedded clause ("know that/whether/where …"). English uses "know" for both, which is exactly why learners reach for the wrong one.
- Ik ken Berlijn. — "I know Berlin." (a place — acquaintance → kennen)
- Ik weet waar Berlijn ligt. — "I know where Berlin is." (a fact → weten)
The quick test: can you replace the object with "him / her / it / this place / this song"? Then it's kennen. Does "know" lead into that / whether / how / where? Then it's weten. There's also a third "know" — kunnen — for knowing how to do a skill (Ik kan zwemmen, "I can swim / I know how to swim"), which is why these three are often taught together.
Ik ken dat liedje, maar ik weet de titel niet meer.
I know that song, but I don't remember the title. 'ken' the song (acquaintance) vs 'weet' the fact.
Three model sentences
These cover acquaintance with a person, with a place, and the past.
Ken jij een goede tandarts in de buurt?
Do you know a good dentist nearby? Inverted 'ken jij' — acquaintance with a person.
Ze kent de stad als haar broekzak.
She knows the city like the back of her hand. (Dutch: 'like her trouser pocket.') 'kent' a place.
We kenden elkaar al voordat we hier kwamen wonen.
We already knew each other before we came to live here. Plural past 'kenden'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ik weet die film, hij is goed.
Incorrect — you're acquainted with a film, so use kennen: 'Ik ken die film'.
✅ Ik ken die film, hij is goed.
I know that film, it's good.
❌ Ik ken dat het waar is.
Incorrect — a 'dat'-clause is a fact, so it needs weten: 'Ik weet dat het waar is'.
✅ Ik weet dat het waar is.
I know that it's true.
❌ Ik kennde haar al jaren.
Incorrect — the weak past is 'kende' (one '-de'), never '*kennde'.
✅ Ik kende haar al jaren.
I had known her for years.
❌ Wij kende elkaar niet.
Incorrect — a plural subject needs the plural past 'kenden'.
✅ Wij kenden elkaar niet.
We didn't know each other.
❌ Kent jij die band?
Incorrect — when 'jij' follows the verb it drops the -t: 'Ken jij...'.
✅ Ken jij die band?
Do you know that band?
Key Takeaways
- Present: ik ken, jij/u kent, hij/zij/het kent, wij/jullie/zij kennen; inverted jij drops the -t (ken jij?).
- Past is regular weak: singular kende, plural kenden (stem + -de/-den) — no irregularity at all.
- Perfect: heb gekend with hebben; participle gekend.
- kennen = be acquainted with a person/place/thing; weten = know a fact or clause.
- It's the easy half of the pair: kennen is regular, while its partner weten is irregular (wist/wisten).
Now practice Dutch
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