Comparing "renshi" and "zhidao"

Both 知道 (zhīdao) and 认识 (rènshi) can be used to mean "to know." But they are different kinds of knowing, so they pair with different words.

	知道 (zhīdao)	认识 (rènshi)
Meaning	emphasizes knowledge	emphasizes familiarity
Part of Speech	verb	verb (mostly)
Formality	flexible	flexible

These two words mainly differ in how they are used.

Similarities

Parts of Speech

Both are verbs.

Meaning

Both can mean “to know” a person. (In this sense, 知道 means “to know of” a person, but not on a personal level; whereas, 认识 means “to personally know” someone, in other words, to have had an interaction or encounter with that person).

Degree of Formality

Both can used in formal/informal settings.

Collocations

These patterns work with both 知道 and 认识:

• 他～你

• 他 知道 你 tā zhīdào nǐhe knows of you
• 他 认识 你 tā rènshi nǐhe knows you [personally]

• ～一个人
• ～老师
• ~他/她.

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, 知道 and 认识 both can be used interchangeably:

• 我 认识 马老师。
• 小明 认识 我的 朋友。
• 我 知道 Michael Jordan。

Differences

Parts of Speech

知道 is only a verb, whereas 认识 is mainly a verb (it can also be used as a noun, but is rather limited in usage and outside the scope of this comparison).

Meaning

知道 means “to have knowledge of”, “to realize”, or “to become aware” of a person or something heard or said (认识 does not have this usage).

Example Sentences

Only 知道 can be used in the following sentences :

• 你知道你父母的生日吗？
• 这是我第一次来中国，我不知道去哪里玩最好。
• 你不知道他有女朋友吗？
• 我一直生活在城市，不太知道农村人的生活习惯。
• 你知道李老师是一名很出名的科学家吗？
• 他知道你的意思。
• 我真不知道怎么说。
• 我知道这道题的答案。
• 他知道自己是错的。
• 老师说他不知道我们什么时候才能到重庆。

Meaning

认识 means “to meet” (first time encounter with a person), “to have an understanding of” or “to recognize” a person, something, someone, some place, or a concept on a deep level (知道 does not have this usage).

Collocations

These patterns work only with 认识： ~你很高兴/很高兴～你, 充分~, ～路, ～地方, ～世界

Example Sentences

Only “认识” can be used:

• 你跟你老公是怎么认识的？
• 你们先互相认识，然后我们开始讨论。
• 那个时候我刚来上海，不认识什么本地的朋友。
• 我不认识路。
• 我很高兴认识你！
• 我们认识的那一天就是他25岁的生日。
• 我不认识那个地方。
• 她是你朋友，你应该认识她。
• 你们认识才几个月，就要结婚了？
• 我们已经认识十几年了。

Advanced Comparison

Sometimes both 知道 and 认识 are used the same sentence.

Example sentences (both 知道 and 认识 in the same sentence):

• 我们已经认识十几年了，可是他的很多事情我都知道。
• 小李，你不知道我有女朋友吗，她是咱们去年在南京旅游的时候认识的那个大学生。