[QANDA] Känna mot veta mot kan

[segwyne]

Jag vet att jag känner människor, och jag kan färdighter. Vad är skillnad mellan dem? Varför vet jag inte någon eller färdigheter?

[Basler Biker]

Jag vet att jag känner människor, och jag kan färdighter. Vad är skillnad mellan dem? Varför vet jag inte någon eller färdigheter?

Buzdawg from Duolingo answered (exact quote)

"Att veta" means "to know" and is used such as in the sentence "jag vet inte" (I don't know). You can only vet things, and not people, though.

That's where "att känna" comes in - it can either mean to know a person or it can mean "to feel". So both examples would be: "jag känner henne" (I know her) and "jag känner flugan på armen" (I feel the fly on my arm). I don't know why I thought of that last example sentence, but there you go haha.

As a side note, you can't vet all "things". For example, you can't vet a language, you kan a language, like in "jag kan svenska" (I know Swedish). There are certain things you kan and others that you vet but I wouldn't be able to tell you concretely when you'd use either, since I personally go on instinct regarding that. I find that it's more likely to be vet, however.

Now onto the last two. Yes, sluta can mean both "stop" and "finish", such as in "sluta kittla mig!" (Stop tickling me!) and "jag hjälper dig när jag har slutat äta" (I'll help you when I’ve finished eating).

I'm not a native speaker so I unfortunately can't give you a good answer regarding the difference between "sluta" and "avsluta", apart from that, as I understand it, avsluta tends to be used when finishing a longer process whereas sluta is more for finishing tasks, something like that.

Hope this has been helpful, and I hope a native can fill in any gaps

MidnightValley from Duolingo wrote (exact quote)
"Sluta" is for finishing an action/a verb. "Avsluta" is followed by a noun.

I can: Sluta talking, Sluta working

But I'll: Avsluta a conversation, Avsluta a sentence, Avsluta a project

The previous answer is correct in translating "vet" as know and "känna" as feel. I think the only time the swedish language uses "känna" where English uses "know" is in the sentence "to know a person". I guess that's because we feel more like we feel a person with our emotions when we know them.

Hope this helped you!

Zmrzlina wrote on Duolingo (exact quote)
Veta is for facts.
Känna is for people.

MartenSanden on Duolingo wote (exact quote)
A bit tricky. As Zmrzlina wrote, "att veta" is definitely the most common translation for "to know" in reference to abstract knowledge. "Yes, I know" would be "Ja, jag vet". "Att känna" is used in reference to people. "I know him", would be "Jag känner honom". But there are less unequivocal examples: If you add a "till" as in "Jag känner till honom", the sense would be would be "I know of him/about him". The verb "att kunna" is also used in some instances. "I know French" would be "Jag kan franska", and in that phrase neither "vet" or "känner" make any sense.

MarkBorkBorkBork asked on Duolingo (exact quote)
What is the usual expression used if you are acquainted with someone?

devalanteriel answered on Duolingo (exact quote)
känner du x? would be the overwhelmingly commonest option. But the English "be acquainted with" spans a bit of the känner du till x? sense as well.

[Basler Biker]

@segwyne, I added the tag [QANDA] to your title.
This is to maximize the searching capabilities of this new forum.
Look at some other posts in this forum, they all have such tag.

Did you have the opportunity to read this note about Structure and Tags If not, you're kindly invited
viewtopic.php?t=1669