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sabías

sa-BEE-as/saˈβias/

“sabías” means “you knew” in Spanish (Describing a state of knowing something in the past.).

you knew

Also: did you know
VerbA2irregular er
A high quality simple colorful storybook illustration of a friendly figure standing calmly, holding a small, brightly glowing yellow star in their hand with a serene, knowing expression.
infinitivesaber
gerundsabiendo
past Participlesabido

📝 In Action

No me dijiste nada, pero yo ya lo sabías.

A2

You didn't tell me anything, but I already knew it.

¿Sabías que Madrid es la capital de España?

A1

Did you know that Madrid is the capital of Spain?

Tú sabías que eso iba a pasar, ¿verdad?

B1

You knew that was going to happen, right?

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • conocías (you knew (a person, place, or thing))

Antonyms

  • ignorabas (you were unaware of)

Common Collocations

  • ¿Sabías que...? – Did you know that...?

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

él/ella/ustedsabe
yosé
túsabes
ellos/ellas/ustedessaben
nosotrossabemos
vosotrossabéis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedsabía
yosabía
túsabías
ellos/ellas/ustedessabían
nosotrossabíamos
vosotrossabíais

preterite

él/ella/ustedsupo
yosupe
túsupiste
ellos/ellas/ustedessupieron
nosotrossupimos
vosotrossupisteis

subjunctive

present

él/ella/ustedsepa
yosepa
túsepas
ellos/ellas/ustedessepan
nosotrossepamos
vosotrossepáis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedsupiera
yosupiera
túsupieras
ellos/ellas/ustedessupieran
nosotrossupiéramos
vosotrossupierais
View All Tenses & Moods →

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: sabías

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence correctly asks a friend if they were aware, in the past, that you had a dog?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
saber(to know) — Verb
sabio(wise) — Adjective
sabiduría(wisdom) — Noun
sabiondo(know-it-all) — Adjective / Noun
🎵 Rhymes▼
díasteníasquerías
📚 Etymology▼

Comes from the Latin word 'sapere', which originally meant 'to taste' or 'to have flavor'. Over time, it also came to mean 'to be sensible' or 'to be wise', which is how we got the modern Spanish meaning 'to know'.

First recorded: Around the 10th century

Cognates (Related words)

Portuguese: saberFrench: savoirItalian: sapere

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between `sabías` and `sabes`?

`Sabes` is for the present tense: 'you know' right now. `Sabías` is for the past: 'you knew' at some point in the past. For example, 'Tú sabes la respuesta' (You know the answer now) vs. 'Tú sabías la respuesta' (You knew the answer yesterday).

Why does 'saber' change so much in different forms, like 'sé' or 'supe'?

`Saber` is an irregular verb, which means it doesn't follow the normal patterns for verb endings. Many of the most common verbs in Spanish are irregular, so it's helpful to memorize their special forms.