Je m'y connais en ...

Question

I understand that this is an idiomatic phrases that means "I know something about ..." Just curious. How do the reflexive "me" and the preposition "y" refer to or mean? "I am familiar with myself" and "at ... in that area"? The "y" seems redundant since you say "en moteurs" at the end. Why not, "je me connais en moteurs."

Accepted Answer

Hi Sean,
The expression -
S'y connaître en quelque chose = to be well versed/competent in something
does require the -y.
Je m'y connais en matière de cuisine = I know all there is to know about cooking ( loose translation!)
Elle s'y connaît en tout ce qui est finance = She is an old hand in all financial matters
Hope this helps!

Answer

There's an explanation here:https://french.stackexchange.com/questions/8527/le-pronom-y-dans-sy-conna%C3%AEtre-en