This is the 5776th most frequent Spanish word.
sabían
"Sabían" means "they knew" or "you (plural) knew" in the past tense.
Past knowledge of a specific fact or information.
Ellos sabían la respuesta correcta al problema.
They knew the correct answer to the problem.
Awareness or anticipation of an event in the past.
Sabían que llegarías tarde debido al tráfico.
They knew you would be late due to traffic.
Lack of knowledge or understanding in the past.