“distinguish between”是英语中常用的动词短语，核心含义是“区分、辨别（两者或多者之间的差异）”，强调识别两个或多个相似事物的不同点。
“distinguish between”聚焦于“对比两个/多个对象，找出它们的不同之处”，常用来澄清易混淆的概念、事物或情况。
最常见的结构是：distinguish between A and B（区分A和B）
其中：
A和B是同类且易混淆的对象（如两个单词、两种颜色、两个概念等）；
“between”连接需要对比的双方，突出“两者之间的差异”。
通过不同场景的例子理解用法：
1、 区分语言/词汇
Can you distinguish between "borrow" and "lend"?（你能区分“借进”和“借出”吗？）
Many students struggle to distinguish between "its" and "it's".（很多学生难以区分“its（它的）”和“it's（它是）”。）
2、 区分事物/感官
The chef can distinguish between 10 different types of salt by taste.（这位厨师能通过味道区分10种不同的盐。）
It's hard to distinguish between the two paintings—they look almost identical.（很难区分这两幅画——它们几乎一模一样。）
3、 区分概念/抽象事物
We need to distinguish between "freedom of speech" and "hate speech".（我们需要区分“言论自由”和“仇恨言论”。）
The report helps distinguish between correlation and causation.（这份报告有助于区分“相关性”和“因果关系”。）
4、 区分人/身份
I can't distinguish between my new neighbors—they both have curly hair and wear glasses.（我分不清我的新邻居——他们都留卷发、戴眼镜。）
“distinguish between A and B”可替换为：
tell the difference between A and B（更口语化）
Example: Can you tell the difference between these two perfumes?（你能区分这两款香水吗？）
两者含义相似，但结构不同：
distinguish between A and B：强调“对比A和B，找出差异”（主动对比两者）；
distinguish A from B：强调“把A从B中辨别出来”（突出A的独特性）。
Example:
I can distinguish between cats and dogs.（我能区分猫和狗。）
I can distinguish a cat from a dog.（我能把猫从狗中辨别出来。）
“distinguish between”是“对比辨别差异”的核心短语，只要涉及“区分两个相似事物”，就可以用这个结构。记住它的经典搭配“distinguish between A and B”，并通过例子巩固，就能灵活运用啦！