Meaning & usage
知る means to come to know something, to find out or learn new information. It is a transitive verb that takes a noun with を, as in 答えを知る, or an embedded question with か, as in どこにいるか知る, and it appears in forms like 知りたい and 知るべき. Learners often confuse it with 知っている, which describes already knowing something, while 知る points to the moment of discovery.
Example sentences 6
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何千人もの人がその答えを知りたがりました。
Thousands of people wanted to know the answer.
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自分自身を知ることはむずかしい。
To know oneself is difficult.
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自分自身を知るべきだ。
You should know yourself.
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彼はジャズについて知るべきすべてのことを知っている。
He knows everything that there is to know about jazz.
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地図は私たちが今どこにいるのか知るのに役立ちます。
A map helps us to know where we are.
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未来に何が起こるか知ることはできない。
There is no knowing what will happen in the future.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 1 past exam question.
