According to Cambridge Dictionary distinguish:to recognize or understand the difference between two things, or to provide a quality that makes someone or something different or special. So, if you want to highlight a special quality of something / someone when comparing things or people I suggest you to use distinguish. differentiate:to show or find the difference between one thing and another, or between things that are compared. When you want to simply state the difference between things or people compared , I suggest you to use differentiate I hope it helped you. All the best Adhemir