interpret vs explain

interpret and explain both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
interpret	No	No	Yes	No
explain	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, explain is a hypernym of interpret; that is, explain is a word with a broader meaning than interpret:

Other hypernyms of interpret include explicate.

interpret (verb)	explain (verb)
make sense of; assign a meaning to	make plain and comprehensible
make sense of a language	define
give an interpretation or explanation to	serve as a reason or cause or justification of
restate (words) from one language into another language
give an interpretation or rendition of
create an image or likeness of