Inklingo

How to Say "meet" in Spanish

English → Spanish

conoce

/ko-NO-se//koˈno.se/

verbA2informal
Use 'conoce' as an informal command (tú form) when encouraging someone to explore or get acquainted with new places or people.
A scene depicting a warm introduction where a young man is presenting a new friend to an older woman, and the two are shaking hands.

Examples

¡Viaja más! Conoce el mundo.

Travel more! Get to know the world.

Conoce a mis padres, te van a caer muy bien.

Meet my parents, you're going to like them a lot.

Primero, conoce bien las reglas del juego.

First, get to know the rules of the game well.

Giving Friendly Commands

'Conoce' is the command form for 'tú' (the informal 'you'). You use it to tell a friend to get to know or experience something.

conozcan

/ko-NOS-kan//koˈnoθkan/

verbB1formal/informal (plural)
Use 'conozcan' (ustedes form) when you want a group of people to make the acquaintance of someone for the first time.
Two people shaking hands warmly in a sunny park, representing the act of getting to know one another.

Examples

Quiero que ustedes conozcan a mi mejor amigo.

I want you all to meet my best friend.

Es importante que ellos conozcan las reglas del juego.

It is important that they know the rules of the game.

¡Conozcan la ciudad con nuestro tour gratuito!

Get to know the city with our free tour!

Why the 'Z'?

In Spanish, when verbs like 'conocer' end in -cer, we add a 'z' before the 'a' to keep the soft 's' or 'th' sound. Without it, the word would sound like 'conoc-an' with a hard 'k' sound.

Two Main Uses

Use 'conozcan' when expressing a wish about someone knowing/meeting someone, or when telling a group of people to 'get to know' something.

Conozcan vs. Conocen

Mistake: “Saying 'Quiero que ellos conocen' instead of 'conozcan'.”

Correction: Use 'conozcan' after words like 'quiero que' or 'espero que' because you are talking about a wish, not a guaranteed fact.

Command vs. Acquaintance

The most common mistake is using the informal command 'conoce' when you intend to say 'I want you to meet someone' (ustedes form), which requires 'conozcan'. Remember 'conoce' is for telling someone to go out and discover, while 'conozcan' is for introducing people.

Related Translations

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