U/RU verbs vs Noun+Suru verbs


When I learn new words in Japanese (using jisho.org), I often see a verb like
for example "to drive" as 乗り回す and 運転する, "to study" as 学ぶ and 勉強する, "to
understand" 分かる and 了解する, why ?? Why is there for the same English verb both a
verb and another as Noun+suru in Japanese ? Do we use both of them as we want,
or is there a rule to know what verb to use ? Do they mean the same thing ? Is
there one that is more often used ?

I'm confused, and because there is a lot of English verbs that has 2
translation in Japanese, it makes the study of the language harder. Thank you
:)




The verbs with する (aka suru-verbs) are part of [Sino-Japanese
vocabulary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_vocabulary) (aka 漢語
_kango_ ). Ones without する are part of native Japanese vocabulary (aka 和語
_wago_ or [_Yamato kotoba_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_kotoba)). If
you already know _on_ and _kun_ readings of a kanji, you can see most suru-
verbs use _on_ readings, and most u-/ru-verbs use _kun_ readings.

Therefore, the basic tendency is that suru-verbs, as _kango_ , look stiffer,
more technical or academic. U-/ru-verbs, as _wago_ , are preferred in casual
conversations. Unfortunately, there are some exceptions, and ultimately you'll
have to learn the usage of each verb from real examples.

Finally, the verb pairs you listed as examples are not really the same in
meaning. I won't go into each example, but for 学ぶ vs 勉強する, see: [Differences
between 勉強する、習う、学ぶ and 学習する?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/18645/5010)




The verbs with する (aka suru-verbs) are part of [Sino-Japanese
vocabulary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_vocabulary) (aka 漢語
_kango_ ). Ones without する are part of native Japanese vocabulary (aka 和語
_wago_ or [_Yamato kotoba_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_kotoba)). If
you already know _on_ and _kun_ readings of a kanji, you can see most suru-
verbs use _on_ readings, and most u-/ru-verbs use _kun_ readings.

Therefore, the basic tendency is that suru-verbs, as _kango_ , look stiffer,
more technical or academic. U-/ru-verbs, as _wago_ , are preferred in casual
conversations. Unfortunately, there are some exceptions, and ultimately you'll
have to learn the usage of each verb from real examples.

Finally, the verb pairs you listed as examples are not really the same in
meaning. I won't go into each example, but for 学ぶ vs 勉強する, see: [Differences
between 勉強する、習う、学ぶ and 学習する?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/18645/5010)

