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.
Contents
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 he knows of you
- 他 认识 你 he knows you [personally]
- ～老师
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 :
- 你知道她的生日吗？
- 他知道明天开会。
- 我知道中国有很多人。
- 你不知道明天下雨吗？
- 我不知道为什么。
- 你知道你父母的生日吗？
- 你不知道他有女朋友吗？
- 他知道自己错了。
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
你知道......吗？ 算是一个结构。
Example Sentences
Only “认识” can be used:
- 我认识她，她是我的朋友。
- 我们认识两年了。
- 我们是在法国认识的。
- 我在上海认识了很多朋友。
- 你和你的朋友是怎么认识的？
- 我不认识那个地方。
- 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！
- 我不认识那个地方。
- 她是你朋友，你应该认识她。
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):
- 我们认识十几年了，所以我知道她的很多事情。
- 我知道这个人，但是我不认识他。
- 王朋，这是我女朋友，我们是在南京认识的。你知道这个事情吗？
