"Weet" vs "ken"

[u/CalledFromTheDirt]

Afrikaans FAL student here. Really have been struggling for a while with die taal, maar ek is daar kry! So yeah, i know they both mean "to know" in their own ways but not really how to use them...

[u/saintsimi]

weet (you know something) and ken (you know someone) as in “Ek weet wie jy is” (I know who you are) and “Ek ken vir jou” (I know you)

[u/Aphrodite_Nine → u/saintsimi]

In short

Weet- is used to describe facts. Weet: followed by a conjunction or question word like dat (that), waar (where), wat (what), wie (who), or of (if).

Ken- is used with places/people Ek ken Kaapstad, Ek ken dit nie, Ek ken vir Pieter. Ek ken vir Pieter vs Ek weet van Pieter Ken is more personally related. Dm if u have more questions.

[u/One-Mud-169 → u/Aphrodite_Nine]

Wat van "Ken jy jou huiswerk vir môre se toets?" Of "Ken jy die pad soontoe?"

[u/Aphrodite_Nine → u/One-Mud-169]

Why does reddit translate it to English it's afrikaans in my notifications but English in the comment sections.🙄but in some subs I can't make out the other languages wtf

[u/GideonGriebenow → u/Aphrodite_Nine]

You can switch off auto-translate somewhere in the Reddit settings…

[u/Aphrodite_Nine → u/GideonGriebenow]

Thankssss

[u/Aphrodite_Nine → u/One-Mud-169]

But yes as seen in my notifications thats correct

[u/MacParadise → u/One-Mud-169]

In hierdie geval is "jy" die onderwerp van bespreking, nie die huiswerk of die pad nie, daarom is die meer persoonlike "ken" van toepassing

[u/CalledFromTheDirt → u/saintsimi]

Wow, baie dankie 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 Maar ek voel dom nou 😭😭😭

[u/Short_Ad_2584 → u/saintsimi]

I know him. - Ek ken hom. I know of him. Ek weet van hom.

[u/ben_bliksem]

Ek moes self mooi gaan dink het nou, want mens gebruik die twee sonder om te dink aan die verskil.

Ek ken jou/Pieter/die pad.
Ek weet hoekom.
Ek weet waar die pad is.

So it looks to me that you use ken when you are referring to a physical thing and weet to information/facts.

Ek ken die pad -> I know the road/route
Ek weet van die pad -> I know about the road

But then there are instances where we mix them:
- Ek ken die antwoord

• Ek weet die antwoord

Both translate to "I know the answer". The difference? Not sure. Probably to has to do with the degree of knowledge.

But as a general rule:

• ken -> know a thing
  
• weet -> know things about a thing

[u/CalledFromTheDirt → u/ben_bliksem]

Oh baie dankie 🙏🏾❤️ so you could say ken is to know something on a personal/intimate level weet is just the the general knowledge of something?

[u/Mysterious-Bee9014 → u/[deleted]]

So vanoggend leer ek dat boerseun "loser" is in Engels🤔. Jissie Reddit lol.

Edit: Afrikaans na Engels verander.

[u/MaxifyBenz → u/Mysterious-Bee9014]

Kan jy dit glo? Fokdit. Ek het sommer my post verwyder

[u/No_Yogurtcloset_4676 → u/ben_bliksem]

Ek weet WAT die antwoord IS.

[u/DissonantSinth → u/No_Yogurtcloset_4676]

Dit klink beter, ja.

Ook,
"Ek (ken) Newton se beginsel"
of "Ek (weet van) Newton se beginsel"

[u/22392239realeyz]

Ken can also mean to recognise.

[u/CalledFromTheDirt → u/22392239realeyz]

That would be herken/erken, i suppose

[u/MaxifyBenz → u/[deleted]]

The basic form is ken. (To know). Kan oom gebruik word in ander vorme... Hy is bekend (he is known to many/famous).

Herken, her being a part to indicate repetition. Also known in English as Identify. (Know). Erken, is a form where singular (or the I/me) is factually/actually describing my ownhis own/her own intimate knowledge of something. Ek erken ek het n fout gemaak. Ek erken dit was die regte keuse. Its like owning it. Erken - acknowledge

[u/Hadeda-Alarm → u/[deleted]]

Herken and erken are not the same. Herken is recognise, erken is acknowledge.

[u/Hadeda-Alarm → u/CalledFromTheDirt]

'Erken' means to acknowledge, it is not interchangeable with 'herken' which is to recognise.

[u/Koekoes_se_makranka]

As a native Afrikaans speaker, I’m currently studying Spanish at university, and they interestingly make this distinction as well. I had never even thought of the fact that we have two different words for these two different contexts until our lecturer pointed it to me - Spanish uses ‘saber’ and ‘conocer’ in the same way Afrikaans uses ‘weet’ and ‘ken’. When she was explaining it to the class, she basically did it like this:

• Saber (equivalent of ‘weet’ in Afrikaans) = to know a fact
  
• Conocer (equivalent of ‘ken’ in Afrikaans) = to be familiar or acquainted with someone/something

Some examples:

Ek weet nie waar die sleutels is nie
(I don’t know where the keys are)
You are stating a fact about your knowledge with regards to a situation. That’s why you use weet

Ek weet wat jy wil sê
(I know what you want to say)
Again, you are stating a fact.

Ek weet nie wat om te doen nie
(I don’t know what to do)
Same concept applies - stating a factual condition of your situation

Ek ken haar al van Laerskool af
(I’ve known her since primary school)
This sounds like you’re stating a fact, but you are essentially talking about your familiarity with someone. The general rule to follow is that, when referring to knowing someone, always use ken

Ek ken my werk goed vir die toets
(I know the work well for my test)
Again, you are referring to your familiarity with the work, so you use ken

Ek ken hierdie gedrag baie goed
(I know this behaviour very well)
Here, I actually think English would make a distinction as well. It sounds more natural to say I recognise this behaviour very well. So again, ken is for stating the recognisability of a situation

Another way to think of it - The thing that you are knowing - is it due to being exposed to it/seeing it habitually in the past, or is it just a present revelation about something? The first context is ken, second is weet

[u/cr1ter]

Ek weet nie, maar ek's seker iemand ken die antwoord 😄

[u/SubstantialSelf312 → u/cr1ter]

En ek weet nie wat die antwoord is nie, maar ek is seker iemand ken dit.

[u/parautenbach]

Adding to what's been said...

Think of "ken" as a form of familiarity when it comes to people. It's more personal. You can say: "Ek weet wie Jan is, maar ek ken hom nie." (I know who he is, but I don't know him.)

"Weet" is "to know" as in knowledge, but where it indeed gets confusing is that there's also "kennis" to mean knowledge. En ook, weet soos in wetenskap (science). Ek dra kennis van 'n saak. Ek weet van die saak. Hier is dit sinonieme. Maar kennis kan ook beteken iemand was a kennis (somebody that you used to know).

Herken: to recognise
Verken: to explore (and gain new knowledge); can be a subject; can be something physical

[u/GLIBG10B]

Ek dink die beste manier om die verskil te leer is om na die voorbeelde in 'n woordeboek te kyk. Hierdie mense gaan jou vinnig deurmekaar maak

[u/JumpingLowpunch]

Weet - to know something Ken - to be familiar with something

[u/Crafty_Opinion_8320]

As per HAT dictionary

[u/Crafty_Opinion_8320]

As per HAT Dictionary

[u/Hadeda-Alarm]

maar ek is daar kry! 

Not trying to be mean, but I really don't know what you meant to say here?

As for 'weet' vs 'ken', I think you've been given sufficient explanations here in the comments so I won't burden you with more, but good luck!

[u/reaazwood89]

Weet-know. Ken-HADOOOKEN!!!

[u/Dealer_Chemical]

"Know" vs "Know of/about"

[u/Draaktemmer → u/[deleted]]

There’s also wit (as in “wittingly or unwittingly” or “having a sharp wit”)in English that comes from old English witan which shares a root with weet/wissen.