알다

* know

 : 지식을 이미 알고 있는 상태

I know the way there

I know his phone number

I know where she lives

I don't know why there are so many people there

* understand

 : 이해하고 있는 상태 (know와 거의 흡사)

I understand how you feel

I understand why she did that but I don't agree with her decision

I don't understand what it means

*** find out

 : 알게 되다 (모르는 상태 -> 아는 상태)

I found out about that just yesterday (어제서야 알게 되었어)

*** figure out

 : (상황, 문제에서 방법을) 알게 되다, 알아내다(모르는 상태 -> 아는 상태)

I figured out how to use it

I figured out how to get there

I figured out how to set up the alarm

* realize

 : 알게 되다

I finally realized what the problem was

**** notice

 : 특이한, 바뀐 뭔가를 캐치한다는 뜻

절대로 '알리다(=notify)'라는 뜻이 아니다

I saw my friend at school today and I noticed (that) she had gotten a haircut

She came out with a new album, and I noticed (that) her style had changed a little bit

I ran into my friend on the street this morning, and I noticed she looked a little different

ran into : 마주쳤다

I noticed you were drinking a lot of coffee today, 

did you have trouble sleeping last night?

Realize vs Notice

Realize는 모든 과정이 내 머릿속에서만 이루어짐

Notice는 반드시 나와 외부와의 접촉에서 발생하는 것만 이야기함 (뭘 보고, 뭘 듣고, 뭘 만져보고)

* recognize

 : 뭔갈 보고 그게 뭔지 알다! 그 사람이 누군지 알다!

This morning, someone said hello to me on the street, but I didn't recognized him

She looked very familiar, but I couldn't recognize her

If you saw your boyfriend's handwriting, would you recognize it?

* be aware of

 : 존재 여부를 알다, 그런게 있는지 알다, 상황의 기본적인 인식 여부

I wasn't aware of that policy

They were aware of the rules

We were aware of the rules

They were not aware of the situation at the time

* be familiar with

 : 잘 알다, 잘 숙지하고 있다 (※ know well은 사람한테만 쓰는 표현)

I'm not very familiar with this topic

Are you familiar with this kind of situation?

* tell

 : 판단하다 (해석은 '알다'의 해석에 가까운 경우가 많다)

I can't tell what it says

(I don't know what it says는 살짝 어색하다. know는 지식을 알고 있는지에 대한 이야기. 눈 앞에 놓여진걸 보고 있는 상태에서 지식을 알고있는지를 이야기하는건 어색)

I can't tell the difference!

I can't tell how they are different

Can you tell what this it? Do you think it's water?

(마찬가지로 Do you know what this it?은 어색하다)