Kennt

Kennt is the third-person singular present tense form of the German verb kennen, meaning to know someone or something or to be familiar with them. It is used for acquaintance or familiarity rather than factual knowledge. For example, “Sie kennt den Mann” means she knows the man, i.e., she is acquainted with him.

Conjugation and forms

In the present indicative the forms are: ich kenne, du kennst, er/sie/es kennt, wir kennen, ihr kennt, sie/Sie kennen. The simple past (imperfect) is ich kannte, du kanntest, er kannte, wir kannten, ihr kanntet, sie kannten. The past participle is gekannt, used with haben: “Ich habe ihn gekannt.” The verb is transitive and usually takes a direct object in the accusative case, for example: “Ich kenne diese Stadt.”

Usage notes

Kennen contrasts with wissen, which denotes knowing facts or information rather than being acquainted with someone or something. Phrases such as “kennen lernen” (to get to know someone or something) are common; writing variants include the two-word form kennt lernen or the single compound kennenlernen, with contemporary usage often allowing both. Other related expressions include “sich auskennen” (to be knowledgeable or competent in a subject) and “sich mit etwas auskennen” (to be familiar with something).

Etymology and cognates

Kennen is a Germanic verb, with cognates in related languages such as Dutch kennen and English ken. It appears in Old High German and developed into the modern form used across German-speaking regions today.

See also

Kennen learning, sich auskennen, wissen, German verb conjugation.