They are very similar, but there are a few differences. If you educate someone, you need to educate them ABOUT a particular topic. - "I will educate you about the dangers of smoking" If you teach them, you can use the same kind of sentence: - "I will teach you about the dangers of smoking" but you can also teach someone HOW to do something: - "I will teach you how to swim" or "I will teach you to swim but this is wrong: - "I will educate you how to swim" or "I will educate you to swim" "Educate" usually implies something more formal, like a school, while "teach" can be formal or informal.