# knew vs known

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### knew
*verb · IPA /ˈnjuː/ · frequency rank #635*
simple past of know

### known
*adjective · IPA /nəʊn/ · frequency rank #398*
Identified as a specific type; famous, renowned.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/knew-vs-known