• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

How to distinguish ISFJ and INFJ?

UniqueMixture

New member
Joined
Mar 5, 2012
Messages
3,004
MBTI Type
estj
Enneagram
378
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
infjs are more idealistic and isfjs more practical/conservative. i think this extends to politics for example or even in terms of what kind of gift they would give for a birthday (isfj something practical infj maybe something involving the arts like a painting or something).
 

cafe

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
9,827
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
9w1
For me, the difference seems to be that I can't keep my weird in for very long. I try, but it pops out.

I can't just talk about the subject at hand, I have to talk about all the stuff related to it: how it got like that, how it impacts people, how the theory and practice differ, what's funny about it, anecdotes related to it, how I feel about it, pop culture references.

It's not all of those things every time, but even if I'm sticking to the topic, one of those things is screaming and jumping up and down in my head wanting desperately to pop out of my mouth. It can make me come off as pretty obnoxious, so I'm working on it.
 

Siúil a Rúin

when the colors fade
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
14,037
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
496
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
How they show love. I think ISFJ are very intuitive about the physical and concrete needs of those they love. They have many ideal maternal attributes because they can soothe the hurts with clear, physically comforting help. An INFJ loves by comprehending a person's inner being and providing more abstract care by saying or not saying what is needed. People have difficulty comprehending what an INFJ is and so usually combine ISFJs and ENFJs in their concept of the type.

The two skill (external and internal care) intermingle and people possess some of both skills, but some MBTI literature calls INFJs the most abstract type, and for me that is spot on.
 

Spin

New member
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Messages
23
MBTI Type
INtP
Enneagram
1w9
For me, the difference seems to be that I can't keep my weird in for very long. I try, but it pops out.

I can't just talk about the subject at hand, I have to talk about all the stuff related to it: how it got like that, how it impacts people, how the theory and practice differ, what's funny about it, anecdotes related to it, how I feel about it, pop culture references.

It's not all of those things every time, but even if I'm sticking to the topic, one of those things is screaming and jumping up and down in my head wanting desperately to pop out of my mouth. It can make me come off as pretty obnoxious, so I'm working on it.

I can totally relate to this! It's really nice when you find someone else who appreciates these discussions. Then again, I've found people who are TOO similar to me in this way, and we both end up telling each other what the other one already knows and has thought of -- kind of like preaching to the choir.
 
Last edited:

Giggly

No moss growing on me
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
9,661
MBTI Type
iSFj
Enneagram
2
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
How they show love. I think ISFJ are very intuitive about the physical and concrete needs of those they love. They have many ideal maternal attributes because they can soothe the hurts with clear, physically comforting help. An INFJ loves by comprehending a person's inner being and providing more abstract care by saying or not saying what is needed. People have difficulty comprehending what an INFJ is and so usually combine ISFJs and ENFJs in their concept of the type.

The two skill (external and internal care) intermingle and people possess some of both skills, but some MBTI literature calls INFJs the most abstract type, and for me that is spot on.

Wow, that is so interesting!
 

Cellmold

Wake, See, Sing, Dance
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
6,266
ISFJ's will be making tea silently in the background, all the while on the lookout for 'CRUMMIES'. Crummies thus located a magical hoover will appear in an ISFJ's hands as if by some malign conjuration....invoking some god of cleanliness at the same time.

And INFJ's will float in through the window firing off randomised bursts of psychic energy, upsetting all the surrounding decor in the process, they really are a messy bunch. I suggest lead walls...and lots of crystals.
 

highlander

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
26,562
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
6w5
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
The ISFJ is the one you meet in real life.
 

Lightyear

New member
Joined
Jul 3, 2008
Messages
899
I find it very easy to tell them apart since INFJs and ISFJs are so different in how they communicate (don't be fooled by just a difference of one letter)

A lot of ISFJs can tell you exactly what they did today, and often will with a minute by minute description, while most INFJs are too caught up in their headspace with all the opportunities! connections! possibilities! to even remember what they had for breakfast this morning.

ISFJs normally communicate in a straightforward, empathetic style while INFJs are more random and quirky in communication (which I am trying to reign in, I must learn to listen better to my friends instead of blurting out all the tangents and connections that come into my head)
 

uumlau

Happy Dancer
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
5,517
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
953
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
I find it very easy to tell them apart since INFJs and ISFJs are so different in how they communicate (don't be fooled by just a difference of one letter)

A lot of ISFJs can tell you exactly what they did today, and often will with a minute by minute description, while most INFJs are too caught up in their headspace with all the opportunities! connections! possibilities! to even remember what they had for breakfast this morning.

ISFJs normally communicate in a straightforward, empathetic style while INFJs are more random and quirky in communication (which I am trying to reign in, I must learn to listen better to my friends instead of blurting out all the tangents and connections that come into my head)

^^ This.

Si is remarkable in that it can keep track of everything the person is doing. Ni's talent is figuring out how to do things.

These differences are also useful for distinguishing INTJ and ISTJ. The INTJ sits back and thinks about how to do things, and once having thought enough about it, spends about 1/10 the time doing it as was spent thinking about it. The ISTJ just sits down and starts working on a task, dealing with issues as they come up.

Si doms tend to classify things by what they are and define words specifically. Ni doms tend to classify things by what they do, and use definitions loosely (but arrange their words precisely!). As an easy-to-understand-but-therefore-unrealistic example, an Ni dom will have no trouble referring to anything with a blade as a "knife", regardless of size or brand or intended purpose, while the Si dom will think of each instance/brand/category of knife as its own thing.

It can be more difficult to tell between Si and Ni doms when the Si doms are particularly intelligent/educated, because they'll talk about "abstract ideas", and expound on truths and insights that it would seem only an N type would know. In these cases, it takes time to assess, since one has to wait and see if the individual takes abstract idea A and use it to hypothesize about abstract idea B, or perhaps refine abstract idea A. If abstract idea A stays the same over time, it's Si dom.

Other clues to distinguish Ni doms from Si doms:
  • If they say they find it easy to learn languages, they're an Si dom. (Not all Si doms are good at this, but Ni doms generally suck at it, because it involves too many out-of-context associations of ideas.)
  • If they go on about how brand X is better than brand Y, or about thinking about buying the latest, fanciest outdoor grill, they're Si dom, no matter how technical their reasons. (Ni doms think in terms of purpose, not kinds of things.)
  • If they can regale you with the entire details of their day, they're Si dom.
  • If they say the oddest things, and then you realize it's a pun, they're Ni dom. (In general, Si humor is about breaking Si rules. Ni humor is about breaking Ni rules.)
  • If they appear to stare for hours into space, yet get everything done that they need to do, they're Ni dom.
  • If they always appear to be busy, they're Si dom. (more true for ESxJ than ISxJ, but true nonetheless)
  • If they're geeks who play D&D, they're Ni dom.
  • If they're geeks who play fantasy football, they're Si dom.
 

Speed Gavroche

Whisky Old & Women Young
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
5,152
MBTI Type
EsTP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
ISFJ
1w9 sp/sx Prince Charles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Cqo1Aksv4
2w1 so/sp Laura Bush http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAF7rprkg8s
2w1 so/sx Mother Theresa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yFzCBIK-PY
3w2 sp/so Pat Robertson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoBdRQVQUzo
3w2 so/sx Halle Berry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEcIaBGkaO4
3w2 so/sx Jessica Simpson http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PPMRMDGieEI
3w4 sp/so David Petraeus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFJX9IaZeaI
3w4 sp/sx Tiger Woods http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kotQfs6VpXQ
3w4 so/sp Jimmy Carter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I8XYGxde1I
6w5 sp/so George Bush Sr http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc7i0wCFf8g
6w7 sx/sp Naomi Watts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydpOd8RvGYk
7w6 so/sx Kim Kardashian http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlXODmkEGro
7w6 so/sx Kirsten Dunst http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0PP7spsmoU
7w8 sp/sx Bruce Willis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqMoUYddoF4

INFJ
1w9 sp/sx George Harrison http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecb1Fc49IDA
1w9 so/sp Noam Chomsky http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/361
1w9 so/sx Osama Bin Laden http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R-4GH0PXDc
1w9 sx/so Imam Khomeini http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AgW_9bijzE
1w2 sp/so Ron Paul http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCiTykzX3ek
1w2 sx/so Gandhi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q3xIfoar8g
4w3 so/sx Cate Blanchett http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJvYyAxpmm4
4w5 so/sp Marylin Manson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3ue6JLPQLA
4w5 so/sp Iris Murdoch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-9fsZW_OZI
5w4 so/sx Simone de Beauvoir http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHVTKy1cmuc
5w4 sx/sp Tilda Swinton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-OWANK5lrQ
5w6 sx/so Leon Trotsky http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m_OXH7n0Rw
6w5 so/sx Edward Norton http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/1870
6w5 sx/sp Michelle Pfeiffer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvt_yLUV95U
6w5 sx/so Adolf Hitler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbF0JQgi7_U
9w1 sx/sp Carl Jung http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOxlZm2AU4o


ISFJs are inferior Ne and dominant Si, meaning that they have a hard time to relax and be opened to the quirk and the innovative when they are not secured and stable, but never have a hard time to be stable, concrete, practical and detail oriented.

INFJs are inferior Se and dominant Ni, meaning that they have a hard time to relax and be opened to the sensual, spontaneous action and adapt to reality and change of situation when it does not fit with their mystic vision, but never have a hard time to be deep, thoughtful, visionary and mystic.

Also, ISFJs prefer to deal with the detail and the small stuff before considering the big stuff and the big picture, while INFJs prefer to deal with the big stuff and the big picture than to deal with the details and the small stuff.

ISFJs look for systematism, INFJs look for patterns.

Beautiful females ISFJs have a rather fashionable and/or casual and a normal and/or bimbo-like style. While beautiful females INFJs have a more weird and/or ethereal style.

Both want to be helpful. But when they are helpful, ISFJs prefer to have some tangibles and concretes things that they can relate to, INFJs prefer to have an abstract, mystic and powerful vision that they can relate to.
 

Giggly

No moss growing on me
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
9,661
MBTI Type
iSFj
Enneagram
2
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
lol@ Osama Bin Laden! That's funny.
 

Cellmold

Wake, See, Sing, Dance
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
6,266
Other clues to distinguish Ni doms from Si doms:
  • If they say they find it easy to learn languages, they're an Si dom. (Not all Si doms are good at this, but Ni doms generally suck at it, because it involves too many out-of-context associations of ideas.)
  • If they go on about how brand X is better than brand Y, or about thinking about buying the latest, fanciest outdoor grill, they're Si dom, no matter how technical their reasons. (Ni doms think in terms of purpose, not kinds of things.)
  • If they can regale you with the entire details of their day, they're Si dom.
  • If they say the oddest things, and then you realize it's a pun, they're Ni dom. (In general, Si humor is about breaking Si rules. Ni humor is about breaking Ni rules.)
  • If they appear to stare for hours into space, yet get everything done that they need to do, they're Ni dom.
  • If they always appear to be busy, they're Si dom. (more true for ESxJ than ISxJ, but true nonetheless)
  • If they're geeks who play D&D, they're Ni dom.
  • If they're geeks who play fantasy football, they're Si dom.

Hmm that makes me an Ni dom then.

At first I was looking at the Si parts assuming that I am an ISFJ. But then I actually digested all of the points after skimming them a little and the Ni ones are far more relevant.

Of course that would mean I have to take those points as a set rule...

I could still easily be ISFJ and I wouldn't mind either way, but those Ni bullet points are very relatable.
 

skylights

i love
Joined
Jul 6, 2010
Messages
7,756
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
Si doms tend to classify things by what they are and define words specifically. Ni doms tend to classify things by what they do, and use definitions loosely (but arrange their words precisely!). As an easy-to-understand-but-therefore-unrealistic example, an Ni dom will have no trouble referring to anything with a blade as a "knife", regardless of size or brand or intended purpose, while the Si dom will think of each instance/brand/category of knife as its own thing.

I think this kind of overlaps with Ti, too. Comparing my INTP father and ISFJ grandma, dad is really concerned about using the right knife for the right task and calling it the right thing, because it's right. It's theoretically correct. ISFJ grandma is concerned that you use the right knife for the task because that knife is the apple-cutting knife. It's the one we use for that task - it's about application. My ESFJ mom doesn't really care what you call the knife or what you use to cut the apple for that matter, as long as it gets cut decently well and you don't hurt yourself in the process. The only INTJ I currently know well probably wouldn't bother cutting an apple, he'd just eat it or go to a restaurant. He's kind of an oddball, though.

It also seems to me that Si also entails a constant sense of practicality, which is easy to mistake for Te at times, because Si is, like you have phrased so well, keeping track of everything the person is doing.
 

uumlau

Happy Dancer
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
5,517
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
953
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
I think this kind of overlaps with Ti, too. Comparing my INTP father and ISFJ grandma, dad is really concerned about using the right knife for the right task and calling it the right thing, because it's right. It's theoretically correct. ISFJ grandma is concerned that you use the right knife for the task because that knife is the apple-cutting knife. It's the one we use for that task - it's about application. My ESFJ mom doesn't really care what you call the knife or what you use to cut the apple for that matter, as long as it gets cut decently well and you don't hurt yourself in the process. The only INTJ I currently know well probably wouldn't bother cutting an apple, he'd just eat it or go to a restaurant. He's kind of an oddball, though.

It also seems to me that Si also entails a constant sense of practicality, which is easy to mistake for Te at times, because Si is, like you have phrased so well, keeping track of everything the person is doing.

This is more an INTP thing than a Ti thing: INTP's tert and inf are Si and Fe. They get rather ISFJ-ish in later life.
 

skylights

i love
Joined
Jul 6, 2010
Messages
7,756
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
so/sx
This is more an INTP thing than a Ti thing: INTP's tert and inf are Si and Fe. They get rather ISFJ-ish in later life.

Interesting. ISTP brother does it to some extent - mostly he just calls people stupid for not knowing the right tool to use - but it could be that ISTP brother has been raised by INTP father. It's like the family ITP nerd club.

INTP father seems mostly to have gotten more IxxJ thus far in my life.
 

the state i am in

Active member
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
2,475
MBTI Type
infj
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
enneagram 2 and 6 vs enneagram 4, 5, 9, and 1.

if context is just one concrete domain, you've got si. if context is all possible domains, brought about by a process of using analogy to blend a variety of contexts, you've got Ni. Ni likes the map about the map, because the meta-map lets us reorganize our search parameters by identifying clear sub-patterns. very alchemical.

if we are to perform abduction, or to deduce the causes from the effects (a kind of time travel), we've got Ni. in general, Ni is interested in "the conditions of possibility." we work by triangulating contexts until we can get to the imaginary center of things, which must be imaginary because we have invented a new domain for it out of too many seemingly disparate, disconnected levels of description. i liken it to the process of fractalization, of piecing together fractionated contexts into a coherent, quasi-absolute topological field whose relative symmetry organizes how to perceive the meaning of the differences that emerge over time (forward moving, diachronic time).

also, infjs at the bat tend to hit more foul balls. straight lines are really hard for us. and there's so much more chaos in every aspect of us because we're constantly re-aggregating everything. no meaning to memorize that can ground us and stay fixed, because Ni just doesn't work like that. the waves are too powerful. and time is happening in all directions while we check out to try to reintegrate a sense of absolute, synchronic time to unify the disparate, relativistic contexts. neglecting to keep your eye on the ball.

more simply, perhaps a quick, other-administered "are you an anime character" test would help disambiguate.

anyway, both types tend to neglect their own story and have trouble monitoring themselves from the inside over the flow of time. in general, the lack of temporal awareness, of being with the internal, particularizable self along a path of changes is highly underdeveloped which makes us overrely on the predictive aspects of more universalized/cultural meanings and the way those are value-marketed in concrete cultural settings/games. this is the way Fe is ecological. we're a constant barometer for social dynamics that we can't help but identify with because our way of monitoring well-being is marked to compare whether the prescriptive lenses we have inherited and re-potentiated again and again are registering within ranges of health or unhealth. so isfjs tend to try to hold stasis outside of them, because there is a more concrete validity to those meanings that have been assumed so long ago, and the grammar of it all simply is what it is, whereas infjs tend to try to slough their way back to the origin again and again, the whole questing thing, to figure out where the center is in the multiverse, to try to contextualize functional value across disparate populations needing constant reaggregation, to become self-conscious of evolution in process and contribute to a wider-ranging update of the various operating systems that need to be reconfigured.

the enneagram is like a prism that organizes the qualitative sites and their respective scales through which this kind of deliberative function plays itself out. Ni is the most abstract, but, say, 1 vs 5 is pretty different because e1 is using abstract means to model concrete problems requiring coordinated social action whereas 5 is building an interpreter for the various codes of the cosmos.
 

Siúil a Rúin

when the colors fade
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
14,037
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
496
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
This is my understanding: there is a rather significant difference between the types because dominant Si has an internalized concept of the physical world, and almost idealized concept to match the outer world. I think quite a few classical musicians are ISFJs because internalizing and recreating a piece of music true to every nuance and detail seems like a strongly Si activity, and then the secondary Fe helps to make the connection with listeners through clear expression. I think the focus on every detail is done with the assumption that accurately recreating the whole will communicate the deeper meaning and structure of the composer even if this cannot be entirely known. When I chat with ISFJs, I find myself very fond of them, but also very far away in terms of cognitive processing. I find them very sensitive to feelings and sensory details.

INFJs have an internalized, unified concept of reality, always working to extract the core concepts from which to build a system that can account for everything and as NF the focus is more on subjective systems. When an INFJ internalizes a piece of music it has to do with the underlying concept and meaning of the piece and the interrelationships of its structure assuming/hoping that the core understanding will make it possible to recreate the whole without remembering all the details. There are a certain kind of details I find myself remembering, and those are myriads of impressions of other people and their interactions. I also remember a great deal about the underlying meaning in different forms of artistic expressions, but cannot recall opus numbers and dates as easily as I can give a sense of the relationship between the symbolic expression and the culture and composer from which it emerged and how that evolved along with the changes in ideology within a people.

This is a somewhat specific comparison relying heavily on my own experience, but fwiw, there it is.
 
Top