# savoir-faire



## iamtoknowHIM

Hey what does savior fiare mean?
*
Moderator note: several threads on the same topic are now merged. *


----------



## Cath.S.

Hey! It's not "savior fiare" but _savoir faire _ and it means "know-how".


----------



## Akialuz

savior faire...  what language is that?   

I know French "savoir faire" means "know how to do" or something like that...  
very similar spelling...  looking forward to the correct answer!
Akialuz


----------



## Cath.S.

Akialuz, "savior" is not a word in French. So if anything, it is a typo on the word _savoir faire_, which means what I said earlier and what you also said. _Savoir faire _ is sometimes used in English.


----------



## Akialuz

yes egueule.  I "mistyped"!  thank you though...


----------



## charlie2

egueule said:
			
		

> _Savoir faire _ is sometimes used in English.


I guess it is more than sometimes. In English, it means :"the ability to behave in the appropriate way in social situations".
What does that mean, you might ask? Ages ago, there was a Canadian TV programme by the name of "savoir faire". It is about how you should entertain, table setting, flower arrangement, writing invitations, etc. That should give you the idea.
Edit : It can be less restrictive, though. (I fear that my example may mislead.) I think it is "savoir-vivre" in French, but I could be wrong.


----------



## sophievm

iamtoknowHIM said:
			
		

> Hey what does savoir faire mean?



If you mean this phrase as a noun, you should write it "savoir-faire" (with a dash) and it means "know-how". Without the dash it is a verb and means "to know how to do sthg".


----------



## tchev

savoir (knowledge), savoir-faire (know how to do), savoir-être (know how to be/behave)... the 3 important qualities to show when you're looking for a job.


----------



## sophievm

tchev said:
			
		

> ssavoir-être (know how to be/behave)


I would rather say "savoir-vivre" for this one...


----------



## tchev

savoir, savoir-faire, savoir-être... maintiens-je 

savoir-vivre is (as charlie said very accurately) the ability to behave in the appropriate way in social situations.
savoir-être is more about how you are yourself, out of any situation.

An employer generally prefers efficiency to socialising.


----------



## zinc

Notwithstanding that "savior fiare" is almost certainly "savoir faire" misspelt, the term "fiare" appears to be a Romanian word for "bond" or "nipper".


----------



## RODGER

Or if you are in a technical context, you might say "il a du métier" for the notion of "know-how"

Rodger


----------



## Foreign Student

I would like to know the word savoir-faire for a native french person (not just the dictionary version). Thank you.


----------



## geve

Foreign Student said:
			
		

> I would like to know the word savoir-faire for a native french person (not just the dictionary version). Thank you.


Hello, Foreign Student, et bienvenue sur ce forum !

I'm afraid I don't quite understand your question... _Savoir-faire_ is a French word that could translate to _know-how._


----------



## grm33223

En anglais, on peut-dire savoir-faire. Peut-etre, on essayais de traduire savoir-faire en anglais, et inventa 'know-how'. Quant a savoir-faire, je le prefere


----------



## geve

grm33223 said:
			
		

> En anglais, on peut-dire savoir-faire. Peut-etre, on essayais de traduire savoir-faire en anglais, et inventa 'know-how'. Quant a savoir-faire, je le prefere


Ah bon, alors comme les français chassent l'anglicisme, vous chassez le... Comment dit-on, au fait ? _frenchism_?  (mais y a-t-il vraiment un mot??)


----------



## Cath.S.

geve said:
			
		

> Ah bon, alors comme les français chassent l'anglicisme, vous chassez le... Comment dit-on, au fait ? _frenchism_?  (mais y a-t-il vraiment un mot??)


_gallicism._


----------



## grm33223

J'avoue que je ne sais pas si know-how et savoir-faire a toujours existé a la fois. Quand meme, know-how est, peut-etre, plus utilisé lorsque on parle du travail (en anglais, on peut etre 'au fait with qqch' aussi, mais c'est idiomatique ), et savoir-faire en ce qui concerne la vie dans la société. Mais, 'know-how' et 'savoir-faire' me semblent un peu idiomatique, j'essayerais de las éviter dans une dissertation etc


----------



## geve

egueule said:
			
		

> _gallicism._


----------



## mgarizona

I've often wondered about this myself. "Know-how" is an americanism from the mid-1800s, and there's nothing I've seen that suggests an association with _savoir faire_. Generally in English the two would be used differently. 'Know-how,' which is a very work-a-day construction on par with 'can-do,' refers to very practical matters. You want someone with the know-how to work on one's car. _Savoir faire_ is used to refer to more rarefied endeavors, and basically acts as a synonym for _tact, delicatesse, adresse_.

We English-speakers do of course like to desynonymize along this pattern: compare the comfy 'chair' to the lowly 'stool,' despite the fact that the words we got them from--- _chaise, stuhl_--- mean exactly the same thing in their respective languages.

So I've always wondered, in French would one apply _savoir faire_ to the 'know-how' of a man who can fix cars? Does a person who possesses _adresse_ possess _savoir faire_?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## FrançoisXV

I'd say the french "savoir faire" has often to do with experience through a long period.
so, it's not skilled in the "clever" meaning, but experienced.
Savoir faire gives: 
il sait faire = efficient 
il sait y faire = experienced


----------



## Louise Dion

Bonjour.  Personnelement, je préfère -- acquired knowledge -- pour traduire "savoir-faire" s'il s'agit d'une profession, d'une tradition, d'un talent, etc.  --Know-how -- correspond mieux à un travail manuel et non intellectuel.  Mais... ce n'est qu'une opinion personnelle et je fais la distinction dans mes traductions.  Louise Dion  -- Toute remarque est bienvenue.


----------



## 7outa

Qu'elle est la différence entre "savoir-faire" et "know-how" en anglais?
Thank you.


----------



## blarf

Quelle est la différence?
"savoir-faire", utilisé dans une phrase anglaise, dénote de la volonté d'une certaine élégance dans l'usage de la langue. Du point de vue du sens, cela ne fait à mon sens aucune différence.


----------



## 7outa

Ok, donc cela n'affecte pas du tout le sens, merci.


----------



## floise

7outa,

Definition of savoir-faire: *:* *capacity for appropriate action*; _especially_ *:* *a polished sureness in social behavior
*savoir faire  is likely to stress *worldly experience *and a sure awareness of *what is* *proper or expedient* <the _savoir faire_ of a seasoned traveler>.

Definition of know-how:  *knowledge of how to do something smoothly and efficiently* *:* expertise

I do not think these two words are synonyms.

floise


----------



## Topsie

I think what English speakers call "savoir faire" (in English!) is really more "savoir être" (in French!)
What the French call "savoir-faire" or "compétence" is "skill" or "know-how" in a more professional sense.


----------



## FrançoisXV

*a polished sureness in social behavior*
Les français appellent ça le savoir vivre.


----------



## Jeanbar

Floise,

Do you mean 'savoir-faire' is 'know-how' and social skills at the same time ?


----------



## blarf

In this case ("savoir-faire" as a "savoir-vivre), I wonder how we could talk about the "savoir-faire" of a seasoned traveller. It seems obvious that in the precise case, the English "savoir-faire" has the same meaning as the French one, doesn't it?


----------



## wynne

floise said:


> 7outa,
> 
> Definition of savoir-faire: *:* *capacity for appropriate action*; _especially_ *:* *a polished sureness in social behavior
> *savoir faire  is likely to stress *worldly experience *and a sure awareness of *what is* *proper or expedient* <the _savoir faire_ of a seasoned traveler>.
> 
> Definition of know-how:  *knowledge of how to do something smoothly and efficiently* *:* expertise
> 
> I do not think these two words are synonyms.
> 
> floise


 
I have heard the two used interchangeably/as synonyms.

However, as you have pointed out, there is a social distinction between the two terms.  It would not be _incorrect _to substitute one for the other, but it would not be the most appropriate course of action.


----------

