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"Teach" is to pass knowledge to others; "learn" is to acquire knowledge yourself.
Side-by-side comparison
"Teach" is to transmit knowledge or skills to another person. The subject is the one who knows and shares. "My father taught me to cook" = he passed the skill on to me.
She has been teaching English for over twenty years.
My father taught me how to cook when I was young.
He teaches mathematics at the local university.
"Learn" is to acquire knowledge or skills through study, experience, or instruction. The subject receives and absorbs. "I learned to cook" = I now have that skill.
She is learning Japanese in her free time.
Children learn faster when they are having fun.
I learned a lot from that experience.
Common mistake
The most classic error: "My teacher learned me English" is wrong, the teacher does not learn, they teach. Correct: "My teacher taught me English." The subject of "teach" is the one who already knows and transmits; the subject of "learn" is the one who does not yet know and acquires. Swapping them reverses the roles completely.
Trick to remember it
- •The one who ALREADY KNOWS and passes it to another = teach (past: taught).
- •The one who DOES NOT YET KNOW and receives it = learn.
- •"I taught him" and "he learned from me" describe the same event from opposite perspectives, they can never share the subject for the same action.
Quick rule
- •Teach = to instruct others (you have the knowledge).
- •Learn = to acquire knowledge (you receive it).
- •Irregular past: teach → taught.
Did you know?
In Old English, LEARN meant BOTH to learn AND to teach, hence the historical error. Even Shakespeare used "learn" to mean "teach": "I'll learn you" meant "I will teach you." That usage is completely obsolete and considered wrong today. The irregular past TAUGHT follows the same pattern as BUY → BOUGHT and BRING → BROUGHT. In British English, LEARNT is the preferred past form ("she learnt to drive"); in American English LEARNED is preferred ("she learned to drive"). Both are correct, but each variety has its preference.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She _____ s English at a primary school. She's been doing it for ten years.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
He's trying to _____ Spanish before his trip to Mexico next summer.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
"Job" is a specific position or employment; "work" is the general activity of working.
"Study" is the activity of reviewing and preparing; "learn" is the result of having acquired knowledge or a skill.
"Above" is at a higher level without contact; "over" implies covering, movement, or crossing.
'Currently' means 'at the present time'; 'actually' means 'in reality', not 'nowadays'.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy