Saber or conocer?
Conocer
To know or meet a person
Conozco a Sabela desde hace siete años - I've known Sabela for 7 years.
Conocí a Marcos cuando tenía 12 años -I met Marcos when I was 12 years old.
To be familiar or aware of something
¿Conoces ese restaurante? - Do you know that restaurant?
With this case, we have some confusing situations:
The following sentences are a good example of this, so it's good to be aware of them:
"Conozco los hechos" - I'm aware of the facts
"Conozco/sé la verdad" - I'm familiar with the truth/ I know the truth
"Conozco/sé la historia" - I'm familiar with the story/ I know the story
"Conozco/sé la información" - I'm familiar with the information / I know the information.
Saber
Knowing a fact or information
As we saw, we sometimes can use saber and then a noun (Saber la historia) but usually this is the structure we find with saber.
- Saber + qué, cómo, dónde, quién.. + action (To know what, how, where, who.... )
Sé donde viven y a qué hora llegan a casa - I know where they live and at what time they arrive home
¿Sabes cómo pintar una habitación? - Do you know how to paint a room?
- Saber + si + action (To know if...)
No sé si comprar la chaqueta roja o la blanca - I don't know if buying the red or the white jacket
or
- Saber + el que,lo que,la que... + action (to know what/which one to ...)
Sé lo que quieres por su cumpleaños - I know what you want for your birthday
Bueno, yo sé la que yo compraría - - Well I know which one I'd buy.
Ability
Vamos al lago, ¿sabes nadar? - We're going to the lake, can you swim? / do you know how to swim?
No sé cocinar muy bien - I can't cook very well /I don't know how to cook very well
Practice
Fill in the gap with the right verb:
Él ______ (sabe/conoce) arreglar la lavadora - He can fix the washing machine.
Debemos _______ (saber/ conocer) toda la información antes de actuar - We must know all the information.
Podré ________ (saber/ conocer) a tu familia - I will be able to meet your family.
No ___ (sé /conozco) qué hacer - I don't know what to do.
___________ (sé / conozco) a Laura desde la universidad - I know Laura since university.
No ________ (saben/conocen) toda la historia - They don't know the whole story.
Mi hermana no _______ (sabe/ conoce) si mudarse de casa o no - My sister doesn't know if moving house or not.
Sol: sabe/both/conocer/sé/conozco/both/sabe
Hope that helps!
¡Hasta pronto! :)