If I want to know if someone knows who a celebrity is, do I use saber or conocer? For example do I say "Conoces quien es Babe Ruth?" or "Sabes quien es Babe Ruth?" Thanks

Question

If I want to know if someone knows who a celebrity is, do I use saber or conocer? For example do I say "Conoces quien es Babe Ruth?" or "Sabes quien es Babe Ruth?" Thanks

Answer 1

I believe in this case, Saber would be the verb because you're asking if they know of the person, not if they know the person personally, which is a key factor in deciding which is appropriate.

Think of it like this when talking about people:

Saber is to have knowledge of a person, whereas, Conocer is to of actually made aquaitance with them at some point and time.

Yep. - lorenzo9, ENE 8, 2010

Answer 2

You can use either, but the questions will be slightly different.

"¿Sabes quien es Babe Ruth?" "¿Conoces a Babe Ruth?"

The second one can also be interpreted as if you know him personally, so it will depend on the context.