Phrasal Verb: Find Out / Pick Up

Find out and pick up are two common English phrasal verbs related to learning and discovering information, and they're used constantly in everyday speech. This lesson explains both with practical examples. Find out means to discover something new or learn information you didn't know before, as in she just found out that she got the job, a phrase often used for news or updates. Pick up means to learn something casually, without formal study, as in I picked up some French while traveling in Paris, which describes gradual, informal learning through exposure. The key difference is that find out usually refers to a specific piece of information learned at one moment, while pick up refers to a skill or knowledge gained gradually over time. Both phrasal verbs are extremely common in spoken English, and understanding the difference will help you describe how you learn things more precisely. Practice using them in context to build natural fluency.