understand vs penetrate

understand and penetrate both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
understand	No	No	Yes	No
penetrate	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, penetrate is a hyponym of understand; that is, penetrate is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than understand:

understand (verb)	penetrate (verb)
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of	come to understand
perceive (an idea or situation) mentally	become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
believe to be the case	pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
make sense of a language	insert the penis into the vagina or anus of
be understanding of	spread or diffuse through
	make one's way deeper into or through
	enter a group or organization in order to spy on the members