Explanation
Use "between" when something is in the middle of two people or two things. Use "among" when something is in a group of three or more, and you do not focus on each person separately.
For example, "The cafe is between the station and the park." Here, "The cafe" is the subject, "is" shows the state, and "between the station and the park" tells us the place. In "The station and the park" there are two places, so "between" is the right choice. Compare that with "She sat among her friends." Here, "among" shows that she is inside a group of friends. Japanese often uses one phrase like "〜の間" for both ideas, so learners may mix them up.
"between" は、2つの人や物の「間」を表すときに使います。"among" は、3つ以上の人や物がある集まりの中を表すときに使います。
例えば、"The cafe is between the station and the park." では、"The cafe" が主語、"is" が状態、"between the station and the park" が場所を表しています。"the station" と "the park" の2つがあるので、"between" が合っています。これに対して、"She sat among her friends." では、"among" が「友だちの集まりの中」を表します。日本語はどちらも「〜の間」や「〜の中で」で表せることが多いので、英語ではこの区別に注意します。
Examples
- The cafe is between the station and the park. そのカフェは駅と公園の間にあります。
- She sat among her friends. 彼女は友だちの中に座りました。
- Is there a bus stop between here and the hotel? ここからホテルまでの間にバス停はありますか。
- There is no wall between the kitchen and the living room. キッチンとリビングの間に壁はありません。
- We shared the cake between the two of us. 私たちは二人でケーキを分け合った。
- He found his keys among the papers on the desk. 彼は机の上の書類の中から鍵を見つけました。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often use "between" for any group, because Japanese says "〜の間" or "〜の中" more broadly.
Wrong: "She sat between her friends."
Right: "She sat among her friends."
Use "between" for two sides, and "among" for a group.
日本語では「〜の間」「〜の中」で広く表せるため、グループ相手でも "between" を使ってしまいがちです。
誤り: "She sat between her friends."
正しくは: "She sat among her friends."
2つのものの間なら "between"、集まりの中なら "among" を使います。