Is to hear of perfectly synonymous with to hear about? Or are there contexts in which one excludes the other?
Hearing of... is great news.
Hearing about... is great news.
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1I can hear about 5 people coming to tell you that they're not perfect synonyms – Matt E. Эллен Jan 22 '14 at 16:05
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Possible duplicate of "Know about" vs. "know of" – FumbleFingers Nov 17 '15 at 21:42
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To hear of something is to become aware of it, whereas to hear about something is to be informed about it, for example, to receive news about it:
Have you heard of John Key? [i.e. do you know who John Key is?]
Have you heard about John Key? [i.e. have you heard the news involving John Key?]
I heard of a new restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter. [i.e. I have learned that there is a new restaurant.]
I heard about a new restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter. [i.e. somebody told me about a new restaurant (and she wouldn't shut up about it for three trolley stops).]
A similar distinction exists with knowing of and knowing about, telling of / telling about, and similar pairs of verbs about information transmission.
