отделять vs отделить

otdelyat' vs otdelit' — to separate/divide vs separate off

What it really means

Отделять is imperfective for separating as a method, repeated action, or continuing state. Отделить is perfective for one completed separation or removal. A thing separated from another commonly uses от + genitive; a physical boundary may be expressed with отделять что от чего.

Examples in natural speech

Перегородка отделяет кухню от комнаты.
A partition separates the kitchen from the room.
Отдели белки от желтков.
Separate the whites from the yolks.
Нужно отделить факты от слухов.
We need to separate facts from rumors.
Забор отделяет сад от дороги.
The fence separates the garden from the road.
Она постепенно отделяла важное от второстепенного.
She gradually separated the important from the secondary.

Common mistakes

Keep the source after от in the genitive: отделить ребёнка от группы. Do not use отделить for a boundary that continuously separates; a fence отделяет even though it has completed no single event.

Memory tip

Отделить makes a clean cut; отделять describes the divider or repeated cutting.

Frequently asked questions

Can отделить mean “detach”?

Yes: отделить ярлык от одежды means detach a label from clothing, with от + genitive.

What is отделиться?

The reflexive form means to separate oneself or become detached: группа отделилась от колонны.

Why is от used rather than с?

От marks the source or thing from which something is separated; с is used in different “remove from a surface” constructions.

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