English has one verb, to know, that does two very different jobs: knowing a fact ("I know that it's raining") and being acquainted with a person or place ("I know Maria," "I know Bucharest"). Romanian, like French and German before it, splits these into two separate verbs — a ști for facts and skills, a cunoaște for acquaintance. Choosing the wrong one is the most common error English speakers make with this pair, because their native language gives them no signal that a choice even exists. This page conjugates both and draws the line between them clearly.
a ști — to know (a fact, a piece of information, how to do something)
A ști is an old, short, irregular verb. Its present is built on a ști- stem, and the only thing to watch is the tu form: it is știi, with a doubled i (the stem's i plus the tu ending -i), pronounced as a slightly lengthened i.
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eu | știu | I know |
| tu | știi | you know |
| el / ea | știe | he / she knows |
| noi | știm | we know |
| voi | știți | you (pl.) know |
| ei / ele | știu | they know |
As with the monosyllabic irregulars, the eu form știu and the ei/ele form știu are identical; the subject or context disambiguates.
Știu unde locuiește, te duc eu acolo.
I know where he lives, I'll take you there.
Tu știi numărul ei de telefon?
Do you know her phone number?
Nu știe nimeni răspunsul.
Nobody knows the answer.
a cunoaște — to know (a person, a place, to be familiar with)
A cunoaște is a Class III (-e) verb with an -sc present (the same -sc / -ști pattern you meet in a crește → cresc, a naște → nasc). Its stem alternates between cunosc- and cunoaște-: the o → oa diphthong appears in the el/ea and noi/voi forms, while cunosc- shows up in eu and ei/ele.
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eu | cunosc | I know / am acquainted with |
| tu | cunoști | you know |
| el / ea | cunoaște | he / she knows |
| noi | cunoaștem | we know |
| voi | cunoașteți | you (pl.) know |
| ei / ele | cunosc | they know |
O cunosc pe Maria de când eram copii.
I've known Maria since we were children.
Cunoști un restaurant bun prin zonă?
Do you know a good restaurant around here?
Cunoaște orașul ca-n palmă.
He knows the city like the back of his hand.
a ști + să for know-how (skills and ability)
This is where a ști does work English keeps separate as know how to. Romanian uses a ști followed by the conjunctiv with să: literally "I know that I (should) swim," meaning "I know how to swim."
Știu să înot, dar nu foarte bine.
I know how to swim, but not very well.
Știi să conduci o mașină cu cutie manuală?
Do you know how to drive a manual car?
Bunica mea știe să facă cele mai bune sarmale.
My grandmother knows how to make the best sarmale.
Note that there is no separate word for "how" here — the să-clause alone carries the "how to" meaning. Inserting cum (how) would change the sense: Știu cum să înot leans toward "I know in what manner I should swim," which is unusual and not how you'd express a learned skill.
a ști + că for facts (knowing that something is the case)
For knowing a fact expressed as a full statement, a ști takes că (that) plus an ordinary indicative clause — no subjunctive here, because you are reporting something true, not an ability.
Știu că vine mâine, mi-a zis chiar el.
I know that he's coming tomorrow, he told me himself.
Toată lumea știe că prețurile au crescut.
Everyone knows that prices have gone up.
Nu știam că ești și tu invitat.
I didn't know that you were invited too.
The deeper logic: savoir vs connaître, wissen vs kennen
The a ști / a cunoaște split is not a Romanian quirk — it is the same fault line that runs through French (savoir / connaître), German (wissen / kennen), and many other languages. The distinction tracks two kinds of knowing: propositional knowledge (knowing that something is so, or how to do something) versus acquaintance (having met, visited, or experienced someone or something). English used to mark this too — to wit and to ken survive only in fossils like "to wit" and the Scots "do you ken?" — but standard modern English collapsed both into know, which is exactly why English speakers find the split so easy to forget.
Știu povestea, dar nu cunosc autorul.
I know the story, but I don't know (am not acquainted with) the author.
Cunosc Parisul, dar nu știu să vorbesc franceză.
I know Paris (have been there), but I don't know how to speak French.
Common Mistakes
❌ Cunosc că vine mâine.
Incorrect — for a fact-clause with 'că' you need *a ști*, not *a cunoaște*.
✅ Știu că vine mâine.
I know that he's coming tomorrow.
❌ Știu pe Maria de mult timp.
Incorrect — knowing a person is *a cunoaște*, not *a ști*.
✅ O cunosc pe Maria de mult timp.
I've known Maria for a long time.
❌ Tu și românește?
Incorrect — the tu form of *a ști* is 'știi' (doubled i); 'și' means 'and'.
✅ Tu știi românește?
Do you know (how to speak) Romanian?
❌ Știu înot.
Incorrect — know-how needs *a ști* + 'să' + the conjunctiv: 'știu să înot'.
✅ Știu să înot.
I know how to swim.
❌ Noi cunoaștem răspunsul la întrebare.
Misleading — a factual answer is information, so the natural verb is *a ști*: 'știm răspunsul'.
✅ Noi știm răspunsul la întrebare.
We know the answer to the question.
Key Takeaways
- a ști: știu, știi, știe, știm, știți, știu — for facts (+ că), and skills (+ să
- conjunctiv).
- a cunoaște: cunosc, cunoști, cunoaște, cunoaștem, cunoașteți, cunosc — for people, places, and acquaintance.
- The split mirrors French savoir/connaître and German wissen/kennen; English merged both into know, so you must consciously choose.
- "Know that" and "know how to" are always a ști; "know him/her/this place" is a cunoaște.
- a ști să is the standard way to express a learned ability — no separate word for "how."
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