saber
to know
Knowing facts, information, or how to do something
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
savvy
in the know
(knowledgeable)
+
-er
verb suffix
Saber means to know and sounds like the English word savvy0 turned into a verb0, as someone savvy is in the know.
saber
to know
To know a fact, piece of information, or data.
- Yo sé tu nombre = I know your name
knowledge
Infinitives can be nouns in Spanish, so el saber is literally "the knowing" — what English calls "knowledge."
- El saber es importante = Knowledge is important
saber [infinitive]
to know how to, can (to be able to do something)
Since infinitives can act as nouns in Spanish, following saber with an infinitive is just giving it the verb as an object.
- Yo sé nadar = I know how to swim (I know swimming)
saber
to taste
How something tastes
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
savor
to enjoy slowly
+
-er
verb suffix
Saber means to taste and is related to the English word savor0, which means to enjoy a taste slowly.
saber
to taste
To taste like something or to have a certain flavor.
- Sabe rico = It tastes delicious
saber a [something]
to taste like
To compare how something tastes to something else. The preposition 'a' is like pointing at that something to indicate direction (that's why it's usually translated as "to" or "toward").
- Sabe a limón = It tastes like lemon (it tastes *points* lemon)