Você sabe a verdade?

Do you know the truth?

Breakdown of Você sabe a verdade?

• você: you
• a verdade: the truth
• saber: to know

Questions & Answers about Você sabe a verdade?

Why does the sentence use você instead of tu? Are they the same?

Both você and tu mean you (singular).

In most of Brazil, você is the default everyday you, so Você sabe a verdade? sounds normal almost everywhere.

tu is common in some regions (for example, parts of the South and Northeast), but its use and verb conjugation vary a lot by region. In standard grammar, with tu you would say Tu sabes a verdade?, but many Brazilians say Tu sabe a verdade? in informal speech.

Do I have to say você, or can I just say Sabe a verdade?

You can omit você.

Sabe a verdade? is perfectly natural in context, especially in speech, because the verb form sabe already tells you it’s he/she/you. The subject pronoun is often dropped when it’s clear who you’re talking about from context.

Why is the verb sabe and not something else? What is the pattern?

Sabe is the present tense form of saber for ele / ela / você (he / she / you). The main singular forms in the present are:

• eu sei – I know
• você / ele / ela sabe – you / he / she knows

So, with você you must use sabe, giving Você sabe a verdade?

What is the difference between saber and conhecer? Could I say Você conhece a verdade?

Both verbs can translate as to know, but they’re used differently:

• saber = to know facts, information, how to do something

  • Você sabe a verdade? – Do you know (are you aware of) the truth?

• conhecer = to know people, places, things by being familiar with them

  • Você conhece o Brasil? – Are you familiar with Brazil? / Have you been to Brazil?

Você conhece a verdade? is unusual; it would sound more like “Are you acquainted with (a certain) truth?” rather than the normal Do you know the truth? You almost always use saber with verdade in this meaning.

What does the a before verdade mean? Why not just Você sabe verdade?

a here is the definite article: a verdade = the truth.

In Portuguese, you generally cannot drop the article the way English sometimes can. Você sabe verdade? is incorrect; you must say Você sabe a verdade?

Could I say Você sabe da verdade? What’s the difference between a verdade and da verdade?

da = de + a (of / about + the).

• saber a verdade – to know the truth fully and explicitly.

  • Você sabe a verdade? – Do you know the truth?

• saber da verdade – to know about the truth, to have heard something related to it.

  • Você sabe da verdade? – Do you know about the truth? / Have you heard what really happened?

So a verdade is more direct; da verdade suggests “being aware of” or “having heard about” it.

Why is verdade feminine? How do I know the gender of words like this?

In Portuguese, every noun has a gender (masculine or feminine), and verdade happens to be feminine, so it takes a: a verdade.

There’s no reliable rule for all abstract nouns; you mostly have to learn them with their article: a verdade (the truth), a liberdade (freedom), a felicidade (happiness). Over time, patterns become more familiar, but memorizing with the article is the safest approach.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Sabe você a verdade?

For yes–no questions in Portuguese, the normal word order is the same as in statements; you just change the intonation and add a question mark:

• Statement: Você sabe a verdade.
• Question: Você sabe a verdade?

Sabe você a verdade? sounds very unnatural and old‑fashioned, almost poetic. In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, you would not say it like that.

How is Você sabe a verdade? actually pronounced in Brazilian Portuguese?

In a neutral Brazilian accent (informal approximation):

• Você ≈ voh-SEH (with the last ê closed, not like English “say”)
• sabe ≈ SAH-bee
• a ≈ ah
• verdade ≈ vehr-DAH-djee (final -de often sounds like -dji)

Spoken smoothly, it sounds like: voh-SEH SAH-bee ah vehr-DAH-djee? with a rising intonation at the end to mark the question.

Is there a more informal way to say this, like people actually use in conversation?

Yes. In very informal speech, você often becomes cê:

• Cê sabe a verdade? – casual, spoken, especially among friends.

You’ll also hear reduction and linking in fast speech, for example something like “Cê sabe a verdade?” pronounced quickly as one chunk.

How would I say Did you know the truth? in the past tense?

You most often use the imperfect or preterite of saber, depending on nuance:

• Você sabia a verdade? – Did you know the truth? / Were you aware of the truth? (ongoing state in the past)
• Você soube da verdade? – Did you find out about the truth? (focus on the moment you learned it)

For “Did you know the truth (at that time)?”, Você sabia a verdade? is usually the best choice.

How can I say Do you really know the truth? or Are you sure you know the truth?

You can add mesmo or realmente:

• Você sabe mesmo a verdade? – Do you really know the truth?
• Você realmente sabe a verdade? – You really do know the truth?

For “Are you sure you know the truth?” you can say:

• Você tem certeza de que sabe a verdade?

How would I make this more formal, for example when speaking very respectfully?

In formal Brazilian Portuguese, you can use o senhor (to a man) or a senhora (to a woman) instead of você; the verb form stays the same as for você:

• O senhor sabe a verdade? – Do you know the truth, sir?
• A senhora sabe a verdade? – Do you know the truth, ma’am?

This sounds politely distant and respectful, for example with older people or in customer‑service contexts.