ENTP vs ENFP | MBTI Personality Types
Having trouble working out whether you are the MBTI personality type ENTP or ENFP? Have someone you know and are looking to help them choose between the two? This article goes into depth between them.
Table of Contents
Both ENTP and ENFP lead with Extroverted Intuition (Ne), which drives their exploration of new possibilities. The differences between ENTP and ENFP is within their auxiliary and tertiary functions as Ne-Ti-Fe-Si vs Ne-Fi-Te-Si.
Within ENTP, Ne is complemented in the auxiliary position (2nd slot) by Introverted Thinking (Ti) whereas in ENFP, it is complemented by Introverted Feeling (Fi). Which dualistically means ENTP has trickster Fi and ENFP has trickster Ti (7th slot).
Ne-Ti-Fe-Si-Ni-Te-Fi-Se vs Ne-Fi-Te-Si-Ni-Fe-Ti-Se.
Ti vs Fi
The main difference between Ti and Fi is you. Fi is the understanding of your own emotions. ENFP knows what they are internally experiencing more than ENTP does.
ENTP’s ability to work out their own feelings is very low or unimportant to them with Fi in trickster slot. They learn to live without questioning their feelings. Whereas for ENFP, with their trickster slot as Ti, this means they have trouble seeing the connections between seemingly unrelated pieces of information and prefer to feel through things instead.
Ti vs Te
Ti works by constructing internal logic systems. It does so by connecting unrelated details together in a correlative map system. This is in contrast to Extroverted Thinking (Te) which uses non-correlative maps, such as ideas working unconnected and having their own independent systems to function.
A Ti user looks to connect all things together and feels threatened by a new idea not meshing into their overall system. Whereas Te looks to give singular ideas their own respect and/or depth by giving them a unique place in their systems. Therefore two ideas can work independently for a Te user at the same time, even though they may contrast each other and cancel each other out. Whereas Ti will work to justify new ideas existence by checking them against older ones and piecing them together.
Fi vs Fe
If you were in a group of people and someone asked, “should we go to the (place)?” do you focus on your own feelings to decide, or whether you think the group should go? Extroverted Feeling (Fe) concerns itself with what others feel over the Self (Fi). It’s whichever you do more which has impact, as every human does both in differing levels. ENTP may not care at all if they go or not, and ENFP will raise their suggestion.
For an example, ENTP will suggest something they don’t like at all, which would make the group happy, so they can just move things along - to avoid the boredom. They may not bother suggesting what they want to do because they quickly calculate (Ti) that they will be outnumbered in their wild (Ne) suggestion, so instead suggest what they think the group would want (Fe) - therefore they end up having the “right” or “smartest” idea, which is genuinely a more important thing than their wants or feelings (Fi) being recognised - being seen as smart and having the wisest answers.
They want their Ti as their auxiliary function to be respected, as it’s not their dominant function but still a strong part of them. Similarly, ENFP wants their feelings to be respected, to be seen as being used correctly. Your second stack function is “what you can see” in yourself, you are usually in the dominant function so don’t see it as easily. You forget to take care of it sometimes as you just “are” it.
Think of yourself, say you are an ENTP (Ne-Ti-Fe-Si):
Think of ISTP (your secondary function (Ti) as their primary (Ti-Se-Ni-Fe)) and,
Now think of INFP (your primary function (Ne) as their secondary (Fi-Ne-Si-Te).
Both share two functions with you.
But one “is” what you can “see” in yourself (ISTP).
The other has “what you are” as “what they can see” (INFP).
Now think logically, who do you want to be? If you had to choose between them? Keep Ne or keep Ti - what is actually more important to you?
It is Ne - but we all say Ti. It’s impossible to live without Ti. We just “are” Ne, but we love Ti. It is what we pour our blood sweat and tears into developing. Ne is what we bleed, but we have invested money into Ti. We love INFP, but, we would be ISTP - it feels more similar to us for some reason.
Now do this yourself, if you are not an ENTP with your slots - do not pick your flip type, ENTP to INTP, because the stacks are so similar - pick the other two options.
So ENTP sometimes has no idea why what they want is important - “it’s just a thought, I don’t even know where it came from anyway, if I think a bit more (Ti) I will probably decide I like something else (Ne) anyway.”
Whereas an ENFP will suggest what they think is best for their own wants and feelings, their “bright shiny idea”.
The random idea popping into both the ENXPs head (Ne), will come out in different ways. If ENFP is attached to the idea personally, its important to them (Fi), so they will suggest it. A more Marxist approach to what they feel, that everything has value to the group, everything is valuable to society including themselves.
Their independent system idea (Te), unconnected to reality (Ne), holds inherent value to them (Fi) - ENFP will take longer to figure out how they feel about something (Fi).
Their interconnected ideas (Ti), unconnected to reality (Ne), is created to give value to the group (Fe) - ENTP will take longer to figure out how to connect their ideas (Ti).
ENTP is more aware of themselves as “the group” rather than an individual (Fe). They have value but they don’t really understand what that means - its Narcissism, in the sense that they, like EXTJs (low slot Fi users), think they can control the group via Machiavellian insights (Fe-Te). They let self worth (Fi) be autonomous.
Question
A simple question to ask someone to determine which one they are:
“Tell me something about how you have been feeling lately.”
“Tell me something about what you have been thinking about.”
Ask both, in the past, because they will have accumulated a lot of data about it - and ENTP wont know how they feel in the present if you ask - it will start them distrusting you that you’ve asked so don’t bother and an ENFP may convert their ideas into how they feel about them in the moment.
You are trying to direct Ne to stay on point because you are asking about the past rather than the present (both types are ‘present’ impulsive types) but there will still be rambling with this (asking say an IXFJ about the past will cause a longer response, asking an ENXP about the present will give a longer response - due to the former being past orientated and the latter being present orientated).
Then ask, if I was to critique you like a parent figure, what would cause more unrest, if I critiqued your feelings or your thoughts? You must make them think of something first, because Ne makes everything abstract, you must make it concrete.
An ENTP would feel more unrest with their thoughts, because it would harm Ti. Someone telling them they “cant think” what they thought, causes them unrest.
An ENFP would feel more unrest with their feelings, because it would harm Fi. Someone telling them they “cant feel” what they felt, causes them unrest.
An ENTP will throw their emotions under the rug for a good chat.
An ENFP would through their ideas under the rug for a good chat.