saber
Portuguese, noun/saˈbe(ʁ)/
saber is spelled S-A-B-E-R (5 letters) and appears 437 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 213th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Saber is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “knowledge; lore (intellectual understanding)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “conhecimento; aquilo que se sabe”.
What does saber mean in English?
verb
- 1
to be aware, to know
Perguntaram-me a resposta, mas eu não sabia.
- 2
to be aware of a value or piece of information
Eu sei qual é a capital da Assíria.
- 3
to know how
Não sei fazer isso, mas ela sabe.
- 4
to know; to have heard
Soube da explosão que houve no centro?
- 5
Portugalto taste of/like (to have the same taste as)
Um bom vinho sabe a carvalho.
- 6
Portugalto have a pleasant taste
Como sabe esse vinho!
- 7
to learn (to become informed of something)
Eles querem saber mais sobre o projeto.
noun
- 1
masculineknowledge; lore (intellectual understanding)
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. conhecimento; aquilo que se sabe
verb: 1. conhecer, ter conhecimento de, estar informado sobre, ser sabedor 2. ter sabor de, ter sabor semelhante a
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of saber
- sei first-person present singular
- soube first-person preterite singular
- sabido participle past
- saberes infinitive second-person singular
- sabermos first-person infinitive plural
- saberdes infinitive plural second-person
- saberem infinitive plural third-person
- sabendo gerund
- sabidos masculine participle past
- sabida feminine participle past
- sabidas feminine participle past
- sabes indicative present second-person
- sabe indicative present singular
- sabemos first-person indicative plural
- sabeis indicative plural present
- sabem indicative plural present
- sabia first-person imperfect indicative
- sabias imperfect indicative second-person
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce saber?
- Brazil /saˈbe(ʁ)/
- Brazil [saˈbe(h)]
- /saˈbe(ɾ)/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to saber
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is saber in Portuguese?
saber appears 437 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).