sapere

Italian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Latin sapĕre (“taste, know”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /saˈpe.re/
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -ere
  • Hyphenation: sa‧pé‧re

Verb

sapére (first-person singular present (with syntactic gemination after the verb) sò, first-person singular past historic sèppi, past participle sapùto, first-person singular future saprò, first-person singular subjunctive sàppia, second-person singular imperative sàppi, auxiliary avére or (as an auxiliary, with main verbs taking essere) èssere)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) to know (information) [auxiliary avere]
    sa l'indirizzo ― he knows the address
    sapete che giudicheremo gli angeli?
    do you know that we will judge angels?
  2. (transitive, auxiliary) to be able to, can, could (to know how to)
    Synonyms: potere, essere in grado
    so nuotare ― I can swim
  3. (intransitive) to taste or smell [+ di (object) = like] [auxiliary avere]
    questo pollo sa di rosmarino
    this chicken tastes like rosemary
  4. (intransitive, by extension) to create the impression, to smack [+ di (object) = of] [auxiliary avere]
    questa richiesta sa di ricatto
    this request smacks of blackmail
  5. (transitive) to think or know that (someone) is in a certain place or condition
    ti sapevo all'estero
    I thought you were abroad
    sono felice di saperti sposata
    I'm happy to know you're married
  6. (transitive) to come to know, to become informed of, to find out
    ho saputo che hai avviato un'attività
    I found out you started a business
  7. (intransitive, impersonal) (with a, di, or [che + ind.]) to have a certain impression; to appear; to guess
    mi sa che questo non è di giusto
    it appears that this is not correct
    mi sa che ho sbagliato a parlargliene
    I guess that I was wrong to talk to him about it

Conjugation
    Conjugation of sapére (-ere; irregular) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)
infinitive sapére
auxiliary verb avére, èssere1 gerund sapèndo
present participle — past participle sapùto
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present sò2 sài sà2 sappiàmo sapéte sànno
imperfect sapévo sapévi sapéva sapevàmo sapevàte sapévano
past historic sèppi sapésti sèppe sapémmo sapéste sèppero
future saprò saprài saprà saprémo sapréte saprànno
conditional io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present saprèi saprésti saprèbbe, saprébbe saprémmo sapréste saprèbbero, saprébbero
subjunctive che io che tu che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa che noi che voi che loro, che essi/che esse
present sàppia sàppia sàppia sappiàmo sappiàte sàppiano
imperfect sapéssi sapéssi sapésse sapéssimo sapéste sapéssero
imperative — tu Lei noi voi Loro
sàppi sàppia sappiàmo sappiàte sàppiano
negative imperative non sapére non sàppia non sappiàmo non sappiàte non sàppiano

1As an auxiliary, with main verbs taking essere.
2With syntactic gemination after the verb.

Noun

sapere m (plural saperi)

  1. knowledge, learning
    Synonym: sapienza

Further reading
  • sapere in Collins Italian-English Dictionary

Anagrams

Latin

Pronunciation

Verb

sapere

  1. present active infinitive of sapiō

Neapolitan

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, from Classical Latin sapĕre.

Pronunciation
  • (Naples) IPA(key): [saˈpe]

Verb

sapere

  1. to know

References
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