Who do you know?

English has many ways to talk about knowing someone, but “know you,” “know of you,” and “know about you” have slightly different meanings.

Let’s break them down and see how to use them correctly!

Know You → Personal Connection

Meaning:

• Used when you have a personal relationship or are familiar with someone directly.

Examples:

“I know you because we’ve been friends for years.”

“I know him. He’s my coworker.”

Know Of You → Awareness

Meaning:

• Used when you are aware of someone but don’t know them personally.

• Often refers to hearing about someone’s existence.

• You know they are a person.

Examples:

“I know of you from my friend—she mentioned your name.”

“He knows of her because she’s famous in his industry.”

Know About You → Information

Meaning:

• Used when you have information or knowledge about someone’s life.

• Often learned through other people or research.

Examples:

“I know about you because I read your blog.”

“She knows about him from his social media posts.”

Quick Practice

Choose the correct phrase (know / know of / know about + me/you/him/her) to complete these sentences:

1) “I don’t ______ personally, but I’ve seen your videos online.”

2) “She ______ very well—we’ve been close friends since high school.”

3) “We ______ because his name appears in the news often.”

Quick Summary

• Know you = Personal relationship

• Know of you = Knowing someone exists

• Know about you = Knowledge or facts about someone

Using these phrases correctly will help you sound more natural in English conversations!
Keep practicing and try making your own sentences.

Answers:

1) know you
2) knows me
3) know of him