Level 4 · Lesson 16

我知道，我认识
I know that, I know him

我知道她的名字，我不认识她。

知道 for facts, 认识 for people and characters, and the two deeper words 明白 and 了解.

听 · Listen

这位是安娜
 安娜 —  李明，你认识那位老师吗？ 
Li Ming, do you know that teacher?  
 李明 —  认识。她姓王，是我的汉语老师。 
I do. Her surname is Wang; she's my Chinese teacher.  
 安娜 —  你知道她的电话吗？ 
Do you know her phone number?  
 李明 —  我不知道。王老师来了！王老师，我介绍一位新同学：这是安娜。 
I don't know. Here comes Teacher Wang! Teacher Wang, let me introduce a new classmate: this is Anna.  
 王老师 —  安娜，你好！很高兴认识你。 
Hello, Anna! Very pleased to meet you.  
 安娜 —  王老师，您好！这个字我不认识。 
Hello, Teacher Wang! I don't know this character.  
 王老师 —  这个字是茶。你明白了吗？ 
This character is chá, tea. Do you see?  
 安娜 —  明白了！谢谢王老师。 
I see now! Thank you, Teacher Wang.  

讲解 · Explanation

我知道她的名字，我不认识她。

English says 'know' for both halves of that sentence; Chinese uses two different verbs. 知道 is to have a piece of information — a name, a phone number, a place, or a whole fact: 我知道她是老师 (I know she's a teacher). 认识 is to be acquainted with something you have met before: a person (我认识王老师), or a written character (我认识这个字). So you can perfectly well 知道 a famous singer and not 认识 her at all. Note the negatives: 不知道, 不认识 — 没 is wrong here, because neither is an event that failed to happen.

你明白了吗？明白了。

明白 is the moment a thing becomes clear to you. Add 了 and you mark the change: 明白了 = 'now I get it', the answer a teacher hopes for. 不明白 is the honest 'I don't follow' — say it early and often. 明白 can take a noun (我不明白这个字) or a whole clause after it. Notice that 白 goes light: míngbai, never míngbái.

王老师很了解北京。我介绍一位新同学。

了解 is the deepest of the three: to know somebody or something thoroughly, from the inside — 我很了解他 (I know him well), 他很了解中国菜. Watch the reading: the 了 of 了解 is liǎo, a full third tone, not the particle le. 介绍 is 'to introduce', and it works like an ordinary verb with an ordinary object: 我介绍一位新同学. Use it for people, and also for a place or a book you want to present to someone.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
知道	to know (a fact)	我不知道 — the most useful sentence in the lesson
认识	to know, be acquainted with	people and characters: 认识他, 认识这个字
明白	to understand, to be clear about	明白了 = now I get it
了解	to know well, to know in depth	了 is read liǎo here, not le
介绍	to introduce	介绍一位老师
字	written character	汉字 Hànzì = a Chinese character

练习 · Practice

我 ______ 王老师，她是我的汉语老师。 You see her every day and talk to her. Which verb?

你 ______ 她今天有没有课吗？ Do you know whether she has class today?

王老师的话，现在我 ______ 了。 Fill in 'I get it now'.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'I don't know him.'

知道、认识、明白、了解、介绍 Match each verb to its job.

用一用 · Use it

你认识谁？你知道什么？你了解他吗？

Say three sentences aloud about one person you have met: 我认识…… (name), 我知道他/她是…… (a fact about them), 我很了解他/她 or 我不太了解他/她. Then introduce that person to an imaginary friend in one line — 我介绍一位朋友：这是…… — and finish with the two sentences you will need every single day in Chinese: 我不知道。我不明白，请您说……