German word

differenzieren

Pronunciation

IPA/dɪfəʁɛnˈtsiːʁən/

Meaning

  • verbdistinguish

Example

Man differenziert oft zwischen Fakten und Meinungen.

People often distinguish between facts and opinions.

Illustration for differenzieren (distinguish)

More examples

Die Firma differenziert ihre Angebote nach Zielgruppe.

The company differentiates its offerings based on target groups.

Core concept

A lens separates a complex subject into clear categories and can also show how a quantity changes at each point.

Common phrases

  • fein differenzieren

    make fine distinctions

  • nach Zielgruppe differenzieren

    differentiate according to target group

  • fachlich differenzieren

    make technical distinctions

Similar words

unterscheiden: To tell several things apart by recognizing how they differ.
diskriminieren: To exclude or mistreat someone unfairly because of an attribute.
kategorisieren: To sort things into groups according to common characteristics.

Definition in German

etwas nach Merkmalen in verschiedene Gruppen oder Kategorien trennen und dadurch Unterschiede klar machen

Word origin

German differenzieren developed as a learned formation from Latin differentiare, based on differentia for a difference or distinction.

Usage tips

  • For ordinary comparisons, differenzieren often appears with zwischen plus the dative, as in zwischen Fakten und Meinungen.

Other meanings

  • differentiateverb
  • take the derivative ofverb

Opposites

Related words

  • Differenzierungdifferentiationnoun
  • differenziertdifferentiatedadjective

Word lists with this word