kennen
Cornish
Alternative forms
- (Revived Late Cornish) kednen
Pronunciation
- (Revived Middle Cornish) IPA(key): [kɛnːɛn]
Mutation
Cornish consonant mutation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
unmutated | soft | aspirate | hard | mixed | mixed after 'th |
kennen | gennen | hennen | unchanged | unchanged | unchanged |
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɛnə(n)/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: ken‧nen
- Rhymes: -ɛnən
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch kennen, from Old Dutch kennen, from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.
Verb
kennen
- (transitive) to know (a person, a thing), be acquainted with, to have knowledge of the properties of a particular person, object or concept, through personal experience, teaching, practice, or habit
- Lars kent Emma, weet je dat? — Ja, ik weet dat Lars Emma kent.
- Lars knows Emma, do you know? - Yes, I know that Lars knows Emma.
- Ik ken Rusland niet, ik weet niets over dat land.
- I don't know Russia, I don't know anything about that country.
- Ik kan goed koken, maar de Indonesische keuken ken ik eigenlijk niet; ik weet niet eens hoe je nasi goreng klaarmaakt.
- I know how to cook well, but I don't really know Indonesian cuisine; I don't even know how to prepare fried rice.
- Ik spreek wel een beetje alledaags Frans, maar de Franse grammatica ken ik slecht.
- I know a little colloquial French, but I know French grammar poorly.
- (auxiliary, colloquial, dialectal) Synonym of kunnen
Conjugation
Conjugation of kennen (weak) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | kennen | |||
past singular | kende | |||
past participle | gekend | |||
infinitive | kennen | |||
gerund | kennen n | |||
present tense | past tense | |||
1st person singular | ken | kende | ||
2nd person sing. (jij) | kent | kende | ||
2nd person sing. (u) | kent | kende | ||
2nd person sing. (gij) | kent | kende | ||
3rd person singular | kent | kende | ||
plural | kennen | kenden | ||
subjunctive sing.1 | kenne | kende | ||
subjunctive plur.1 | kennen | kenden | ||
imperative sing. | ken | |||
imperative plur.1 | kent | |||
participles | kennend | gekend | ||
1) Archaic. |
Derived terms
See also
German
Etymology
From Middle High German kennen, from Old High German kennan, from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan (“to know”), from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną (“to know”), a causative form of *kunnaną formed with the suffix *-janą.
Cognate to Bavarian kennan, Dutch kennen, Scots and English ken (“to know”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɛnən/
audio (Germany) (file) audio (Germany) (file) audio (Austria) (file)
Verb
kennen (irregular weak, third-person singular present kennt, past tense kannte, past participle gekannt, past subjunctive kennte, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to know; to be acquainted with; to be familiar with
Usage notes
- Although the senses of both kennen and wissen are covered by English “to know”, the two German verbs are only occasionally interchangeable. Only wissen is generally used with a following subclause (I know that..., how..., when..., etc.). With nouns the distinction may be more difficult. Wissen is used with facts and memorized information (“to be aware of”, French savoir), whereas kennen is used with concepts, ideas, backgrounds (“to be familiar with”, French connaître). Compare the following two sentences, both of which translate literally as “Do you know the street that he mentioned to us?”:
- Kennst du die Straße, die er uns genannt hat? ― Are you familiar with the street? Have you been there before?
- Weißt du die Straße, die er uns genannt hat? ― Do you know what street it was? Do you remember its name?
- The past subjunctive kennte is highly literary or archaic. It should be used with some caution even in formal writing.
- 1887, Eduard Engel, Griechische Frühlingstage, 4th, purer edition, Radebeul bei Dresden: Haupt & Hammon, published 1927, page 361:
- Die Beseitigung des Schlendrians werde ich wohl nicht mehr erleben, auch dann nicht, wenn Plato selber aus der Asche auferstünde und die deutschen Schulmänner die richtige Aussprache lehrte. Sie würden ihm beweisen, daß er sich irre: er habe in den mehr als zwei Jahrtausenden seit seinem Tode gewiß die richtige Aussprache vergessen; sie aber, die deutschen Oberlehrer und Direktoren, kennten sie ganz genau: sie wäre buchstäblich so wie das Neuhochdeutsche des 20. Jahrhunderts gewesen.
- The abolition of this sloppy [pronunciation of Ancient Greek] I will probably never witness, not even should Plato himself rise from the ashes to teach to the German pedagogues the correct pronunciation. They would show him that he was mistaken: that he must have forgotten the correct pronunciation in the more than two millennia following his death, but that they, the German head teachers and principals, knew exactly what it was like: precisely the same as the New High German of the 20th century.
Conjugation
infinitive | kennen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | kennend | ||||
past participle | gekannt | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich kenne | wir kennen | i | ich kenne | wir kennen |
du kennst | ihr kennt | du kennest | ihr kennet | ||
er kennt | sie kennen | er kenne | sie kennen | ||
preterite | ich kannte | wir kannten | ii | ich kennte1 | wir kennten1 |
du kanntest | ihr kanntet | du kenntest1 | ihr kenntet1 | ||
er kannte | sie kannten | er kennte1 | sie kennten1 | ||
imperative | kenn (du) kenne (du) |
kennt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Related terms
- Kennleuchte
- Kennnummer
- Kennzahl
- Kennzeichen
- Kennziffer
Low German
Etymology
From Old Saxon *kennian, from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan (“to know”). Cognate with German and Dutch kennen, English ken.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɛnnən/
Verb
kennen
Conjugation
infinitive | kennen | |
---|---|---|
indicative | present | preterite |
1st person singular | kenn | kenn |
2nd person singular | kenns(t) | kenns(t) |
3rd person singular | kenn(t) | kenn |
plural | kennt, kennen | kennen |
imperative | present | — |
singular | kenn(e) | |
plural | kennt | |
participle | present | past |
kennen | (e)kennt, gekennt | |
Note: This conjugation is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects. |
Synonyms
- (to know a fact): weten
Luxembourgish
Etymology
From Middle High German kennen, from Old High German *kennen, from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną. Cognate with German kennen, Dutch kennen, English ken.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkænən/
- Rhymes: -ænən
Verb
kennen (third-person singular present kennt, past participle kannt, auxiliary verb hunn)
- (transitive) to know
Maltese
Root |
---|
k-n-n |
4 terms |
Etymology
From Arabic كَنَّنَ (kannana).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɛn.nɛn/
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch kennen, from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.
Verb
kennen
Inflection
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Further reading
- “kennen”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “kennen”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old English cennan, from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɛnən/
Conjugation
infinitive | (to) kennen, kenne | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | kenne | kenned, kennte | |
2nd-person singular | kennest | kennedest, kenntest | |
3rd-person singular | kenneth | kenned, kennte | |
subjunctive singular | kenne | ||
imperative singular | — | ||
plural1 | kennen, kenne | kenneden, kennede, kennten, kennte | |
imperative plural | kenneth, kenne | — | |
participles | kennynge, kennende | kenned, kennt, ykenned, ykennt |
1Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
References
- “kennen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Mòcheno
Etymology
From Middle High German kennen, from Old High German kennan, from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną (“to make known”). Cognate to German kennen, Scots ken.
References
- “kennen” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.
Old Dutch
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną.
Inflection
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants
Further reading
- “kennen”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012