The word “kennen” is used primarily for people, things and places. This word expresses familiarity with something that’s been experienced or that the speaker has had contact with. (For grammar nerds: “kennen” is always followed by an accusative object).

Examples

Ich kenne ihn. I know him.
Ich kenne Paris. I know/am familiar with Paris.
Ich kenne den Plan. I know/am familiar with the plan.
Ich kenne Photoshop nicht so gut. I don’t know Photoshop so well.

Wissen

The word “wissen” is used for abstract information or factual knowledge (and is usually followed by a longer phrase).

Hey. My name's Stephan. I wrote this blog post. What I also did: I filmed myself teaching German to some absolute beginners! See how that went...

Examples

Ich weiß wie es funktioniert. I know how it works.
Du weißt nicht was die Hauptstadt von Australian ist. You don’t know what the capital of Australia is.
Wir wissen es nicht. We don’t know.

In sum: Ich weiß dass du ihn kennst. I know that you know him.

About the Author Stephan

Stephan has been a professional language teacher since the early 2000s. He's been calling Berlin his home since 2006, when he started managing (and founding his own) language schools in addition to teaching German and English. He's the owner of Deutschable and loves writing about language, history, and game changers.

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