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If you can't explain how something works, you don't know how it works.
Nah, some people are just bad with words. They can know how something works but can't explain it because their vocabulary doesn't capture some of the nuances. I've seen this a lot in self-taught experts, especially.
Plus there's always the possibility that the vocabulary is limited from the audience perspective. I definitely know how certain things work, but detail is lost when I oversimplify it for my kids or something, because I'm explaining it to them rather than to a more knowledgeable adult with a stronger base.
I'm not a stickler for vocabulary when I ask people to explain something. You can use other words if you want, describe it like you're a caveman, draw a sketch, even explain it with interpretive dance for all I care.
And it is fine if some detail is lost in the explanation. However, you should be able to communicate it in some manner.
I mean, the linguistic mastery necessary to be able to talk around gaps in vocabulary is still itself a skill set completely distinct from knowledge about a different subject.
Plenty of skills aren't easily reduced to verbal explanations, or even the ability to teach. Plenty of world class athletes become mediocre coaches, frustrated that their players don't seem to get things the way they used to. Same with musicians, actors, public speakers (merely repeating the words of a speech won't necessarily carry the same charisma and gravitas), and all sorts of other experts.
One can know something without being able to explain it. That doesn't invalidate the knowledge.
Which is why I mentioned other ways to explain things. If you're dealing with a spatial problem but can't draw what you are trying to explain, that is indicative that you don't know what you're dealing with.
It's the reason why I mentioned communication beyond the written word.