Among versus between (parmi / entre)

Entre (Between)

Use entre (between) for choices, relationships, or differences involving distinct, separate items.

What is the difference between this category and the other?
Quelle est la différence entre cette catégorie et l'autre ?
You must do the sorting between these two categories.
Tu dois faire le tri entre ces deux catégories.

Parmi (Among)

Use parmi (among) for a larger, uncounted group, a crowd, or a collective mass. You will often see it when blending into a crowd (se fondre) or sorting through a general collection.

Doing the sorting among these documents is difficult, I know it.
Faire le tri parmi ces documents est difficile, je le sais.
The spy wants to blend into the crowd.
L'espion veut se fondre parmi la foule.

Selecting from a Group

Parmi is also used when selecting (sélectionner) a specific individual or item from a larger pile (le tas) or group.

He is the only exceptional individual among us.
C'est le seul individu exceptionnel parmi nous.
The boss is having a file selected from the pile.
Le chef fait sélectionner un dossier parmi le tas.

Entre vs. Parmi

To summarize: use entre for specific, distinct items, and parmi for a collective group or mass. Notice how they function differently in the same sentence.

The document is not among the pile, but between the books.
Le document n'est pas parmi le tas, mais entre les livres.
Among the multitude, the difference between them is very clear.
Parmi la multitude, la différence entre eux est très claire.

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