could you please explain the difference between nie znam and nie wiem? are they used differently depending on context?
This is an EXTREMELY important question!! Thank you for asking this :) Anon asks what is the difference between the verbs “znać” and “wiedzieć”, which both translate as “to know”. For those of you that know some French I can simply explain it as znać = connaître and wiedzieć= savoir. Similarly in Spanish, znać= conocer and wiedzieć= saber. For those of you that do not, I will try to explain it with examples.
Znać means “to know” but in these kinds of situations (typically with knowing a place/person/object)
I know this song. [Znam tę piosenkę]
I know the answer. [Znam odpowiedź]
Wiedzieć means “to know” but in these kinds of situations (typically knowing a fact)
I know who did this. [Wiem kto to zrobił]
I don’t know anything. [Nic nie wiem]
****Careful with saying “to know how to”- Umieć
Umiem pływać - I know how to swim
If you have any more questions or are not sure about which to use for a specific example, let me know!