9.09.2012

savoir & connaitre

have you ever thought about what it means to know somebody?

the french have two words for "know":
je sais,
i know as in i know what that is.
je connais, 
as in i know him.
the difference between these is simple.
to know something,
or to know someone; to be familiar with something.
my point is this:
there is a difference between knowing facts and knowing people. 
you can know with your head, or you can know with your heart.
heart-knowing doesn't happen as often.
i mean, 
how many people do you know like you know the headlines of the newspaper, 
and how many people do you know like you know the lyrics to your favorite song?
i think a lot of people need to be heart-known these days
because there's a big difference.
a big, distance-crossing difference.

2 comments:

Nicole Tucker said...

your thought process is beautiful. it makes for lovely writing. :)

stevation said...

I love your insights on this, my cute, multi-lingual, world-traveling daughter! It's a sweet thing to realize that another language helps you express something or know something in a different way. I've always loved how the verb connaitre includes the root "con" which means "with or together," as in connect or conjoin. I like the implication that to really know someone you have to do or be something *with* them. <3