How to Say “Did You Know?” in French

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le saviez-vous ?
In French, 'did you know?' is translated as le saviez-vous ?
This phrase is used to introduce a surprising or interesting fact to someone.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase le saviez-vous ? literally translates to 'did you know it?' due to the inclusion of the direct object pronoun le (it).

Which one should you use?

You can use le savais-tu ? when speaking to a friend, a child or someone you address with tu. In casual spoken French, the subject and verb are often not inverted, so you can say tu le savais ? instead of the more formal le savais-tu ?

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

Several formal variations exist depending on the nuance you want to convey: Saviez-vous que? is a formal way to say 'Did you know?', Étiez-vous au courant que? means 'Were you aware that?' and Avez-vous connaissance du fait que? means 'Did you have knowledge of the fact that?' For informal situations, you can use Tu savais que? for 'Did you know?', T'étais au courant que? for 'Were you aware that?' or Tu savais que c'était le cas? for 'Did you know that was the case?'

Did you know?

  • While le saviez-vous ? uses the imperfect tense, it does not refer to a continuous state. In this context, the tense is used to soften the question and make it sound more polite or suggestive than the present tense.
  • In a formal debate or legal setting, Avez-vous connaissance du fait que? is used to establish a legal record of a person's awareness, rather than just sharing a fun fact.
  • The word le in le saviez-vous ? is a linguistic survivor from the Latin word 'illum', which originally meant 'that one' or 'that person'.

Examples in context

  • Saviez-vous que Paris est la capitale de la France?
    Did you know that Paris is the capital of France?
  • Étiez-vous au courant que la France est célèbre pour sa cuisine?
    Were you aware that France is famous for its cuisine?
  • Tu savais que les chats ont une excellente vision nocturne?
    Did you know that cats have excellent night vision?
  • T'étais au courant que Julie a obtenu une promotion?
    Were you aware that Julie got a promotion?
  • Saviez-vous que la Tour Eiffel a été construite en 1889?
    Did you know that the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889?
  • Tu savais que les escargots sont une spécialité culinaire en France?
    Did you know that snails are a culinary specialty in France?
  • Étiez-vous au courant que notre entreprise a remporté un prix prestigieux?
    Were you aware that our company won a prestigious award?
  • T'étais au courant que Jean et Marie se sont fiancés?
    Were you aware that Jean and Marie got engaged?
  • Saviez-vous que vous êtes invités à la réunion?
    Did you know that you are invited to the meeting?
  • Tu savais que j'étais en vacances la semaine dernière?
    Did you know that I was on vacation last week?
  • Le saviez-vous ? La Terre est ronde.
    Did you know? The Earth is round.
  • Le saviez-vous ? Ce chat est très vieux.
    Did you know? This cat is very old.

Example conversation

Léa and Hugo are talking about space.

  1. Léa

    Le saviez-vous ? Mars est la planète rouge.
    Did you know? Mars is the red planet.
  2. Hugo

    Non, je ne le savais pas, Hugo.
    No, I didn't know that, Hugo.
  3. Léa

    C'est fascinant, n'est-ce pas ?
    It's fascinating, isn't it?
  4. Hugo

    Oui, c'est vraiment incroyable.
    Yes, it's truly incredible.

Sources

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Tiffany Michele
Tiffany MicheleHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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