tell apart, tell from, distinguish between/from, differentiate between/from, discern between/from, discriminate between/from 与 know apart/from 这些短语的意思基本相同。

 (1) tell apart指“把……区分开”，tell为及物动词。

• The two brothers are so much alike that it is difficult to tell them apart .
  这两兄弟长得太像了，很难把他们区分开。
• Even when magnified, the two organisms are very difficult to tell apart .
  即使把它们放大，也很难将这两种微生物区分开来。

 (2) ①tell from指“把……跟……区分开”。

• The two girls look so much alike that it is almost impossible to tell one from the other.
  这两女孩长得那么像，几乎不可能区分谁是谁。
• Some people cannot tell red from green, as there is a fault in their eyes.
  有些人色盲，不能把红色和绿色区分开来。

②有时不用from也可表示“断定，知道，分清”。

• They look so much alike that I can't tell which is which.
  他们看起来很相似，我分不清谁是谁。
• Can you tell what it is?
  你能断定这是什么？

 (3) distinguish between表示“区分，区别”，指识别两个人或事物的区别，distinguish作不及物动词。

• When you're lost in a dark forest, it is difficult for you to distinguish between day and night.
  当你在漆黑的森林里迷路时，你很难分清白昼和黑夜。
• You should learn to distinguish between right and wrong.
  你应该学会分辨是非。

 (4) distinguish...from与distinguish between意思基本相同，只是在前一个短语中distinguish为及物动词。

• When you're lost in a dark forest, it is difficult for you to distinguish day from night.
  当你在漆黑的森林里迷路时，是很难分清白昼和黑夜的。

 (5) differentiate between指“辨别两个人或物；区别对待(含有偏爱或不公的成分)”，不用被动式，在此短语中differentiate为不及物动词。

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.
  根据烟囱的形状，你能够分辨出这两座房屋。
• Women complain that many employers differentiate between male and female workers when calculating their rank and pay.
  妇女们抱怨雇主在考量她们的职位和报酬时，对男女雇员区别对待。
• I don't approve of differentiating between pupils according to their family background.
  我不同意根据学生的家庭背景而把他们区别对待。

 (6) differentiate...from指“把……跟……区分开”，这时differentiate为及物动词，可用被动式。

• The house is differentiated from its neighbor by the shape of its chimney.
  通过烟囱的形状可以把这座房子跟它相邻的那座区分开来。
• It is the power of speech which most clearly differentiates man from the animals.
  是语言能力把人和动物最清楚地区分开来。

 (7) discern between, discern from均可表示“分清，辨别出”，在前一短语中discern可以是不及物动词也可是及物动词，而在后一短语中discern是及物动词。

• We must learn to discern between right and wrong and between the true and the false.
  我们必须学会辨别是非真伪。
• He finds it difficult to discern blue from green/between blue and green.
  他发现把蓝色和绿色分清是很难的。
• It's easy to discern a connection between high rents and the lack of housing.
  很容易辨清高房租和住房紧缺之间的联系。

 (8) ①discriminate between意为“区分，区别”，还有区别对待之意，含有不公、偏爱的意味，这里，discriminate是不及物动词。

• The two sisters are so much alike, it is difficult to discriminate between them/to tell them apart .
  这姊妹俩长得太相似，很难区分开来。
• It is illegal to discriminate/differentiate between people on account of race, creed and color in our country.
  在我们国家，因种族、信仰和肤色不同而对人区别对待是不合法的。
• A good teacher doesn't discriminate between pupils.
  一位好老师对学生一视同仁(不区别对待学生)。

②discriminate against意思是“歧视”，与discriminate between在意思和用法上有所区别，前者可用作被动式。

• The employers of that firm are charged with discriminating against women.
  那家公司的雇主被指控歧视妇女。
• Do you feel discriminated against in the U.S.A.?
  在美国你感到受歧视了吗？

③discriminate from意为“把……跟……区分开”，这时discriminate是及物动词，常用主动语态。

• Could you teach me how to discriminate the real painting from the false one?
  你能教我如何识别画作是真品还是赝品吗？
• We should learn to discriminate good from evil.
  我们应学会分辨善恶。

④discriminate from也可表示作为两者之间的差别“把……区别开来”，这时与differentiate from同义。

• It is the power of making tools which most clearly discriminates man from the animals.
  正是制造工具的能力将人与动物最清楚地区别开来。

 (9) know apart, know from意思都是“把……区别开来，分清”，分别可与tell apart和tell from换用；两个短语中，know均作及物动词。

• Nobody except their mother knows the twins apart .
  除了他们的母亲之外没有任何人能把这对双胞胎区分开。
• She is a naive girl, not knowing chalk from cheese.
  她是个天真的女孩，什么都不懂。
• Do you think of him as a man not knowing good from evil?
  你认为他是一个不知善恶的人吗？