What's the difference between "figure out" and "know"?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
Great question. To "figure out" something means to be able to understand something or to solve a problem. To "know" simply means to have knowledge. Here the use of "figure out" lets us know that he is facing a problem in making the right decision about what to make for Monica. Whereas using just "know" lacks that nuance. It is key to note though that if you were to change the sentence and use "know", the general meaning would remain the same, but it would lack work emphasis. Ex: I can't figure out if he's joking. Ex: I don't know if he's joking.