To notice means to perceive something with your senses – to see, hear, smell, or feel
it.
▶️ She raised her hand, but the teacher didn’t notice her and called on another
student to answer the question.
▶️ I made a few mistakes during my piano performance, but nobody noticed.
▶️ I noticed a strong smell of smoke in the room.
▶️ When did you first notice the pain?
To realize means to know or understand something – or to start to know or
understand something that you didn’t know before. Realize is a more internal,
mental act, which involves thinking about a situation or having a thought suddenly
appear in your mind.
▶️ I realize how important this is to you.
▶️ They don’t seem to realize how serious this is.
▶️ It took some time, but he eventually realized that I was right.
▶️ When she got to the bus station, she realized she had left her wallet at home.
Imagine that you don’t wear a watch, so you don’t know what time it is. You have a
class that begins at 8:00 and you walk into the classroom at 8:20 and see the clock.
Then you could say:
▶️ I noticed what time it was and realized I was late.
You noticed the time because you saw the clock with your eyes. And after noticing
the time, you realized you were late because you understood that you arrived later
than the starting time for the class.
The words discover and find out are the same. These mean to learn about
something from an outside source, such as from studying or from another person
telling you. Discover is more formal, and find out is more informal and more
frequently used in everyday English.
▶️ I was sad to find out that my favorite teacher won’t be returning next
semester.
▶️ Scientists have discovered that chocolate is actually good for your health.