German · Real conversations
How to say “How do you know ...?” in German
Ask about someone's connection to a mutual acquaintance.
Woher kennst du …?
How do you know …?
Replace the gap with the person's name and use the construction shown in the example.
Use it in three situations
A mutual friend
Woher kennst du Anna?
How do you know Anna?
A colleague
Woher kennst du meinen Kollegen?
How do you know my colleague?
A family connection
Woher kennst du meine Mutter?
How do you know my mother?
What to watch for
Knowing a person and knowing a fact can use different verbs in the target language.
Read the whole expression before replacing a detail. The natural wording may use a different order or construction from the English sentence.
Your turn
Imagine meeting people. Say this in German: How do you know my colleague?
Reveal a sample reply
Woher kennst du meinen Kollegen?
How do you know my colleague?
Build a useful exchange
Start a friendly exchange and find a connection.
This expression in other languages
A note on speaking German
Use Sie for formal address and du with people you address informally. Könnten Sie …? is a useful polite request. Keep noun capitals and the verb position shown in each complete sentence.
The examples preserve German accents and ß. Read a full sentence before replacing a detail: a subordinate clause can move the verb to the end, and case can change an article or pronoun.
