A subscriber asked: "What's the difference between tra and fra? The simple answer is "no difference." They both mean "between," "among," "in," (when talking about time), and more. 

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But they do sound different at the beginning with two different consonants, and to make a sentence flow better, Italians will choose one over the other, instinctively. If the noun following tra or fra starts with T or F, Italians will instinctively avoid weighing down the sentence with too many F's or too many T's. Or it might just be a personal preference that determines which version someone will use in a given situation. Let's look at some examples from Yabla videos to see if there are any patterns in choosing fra over tra and vice versa. 

Try saying both prepositions. Is one easier to say than the other? Perhaps the "tr" requires less effort than "fr." One might conclude that "tr" is a bit more percussive, cleaner.

Our first example is from a video about prepositions, including tra and fra.  

Compagnia: "Mi piacerebbe organizzare una cena tra amici".

Company: "I'd like to plan a dinner among friends."

Caption 37, Marika spiega Preposizioni semplici - Part 3

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Tra l'altro, da quello che si sa, tra poco qui arriveranno le forze dell'ordine

By the way, from what we know, the police will be arriving here in a little while,

Caption 23, Liberi tutti EP 5 Cosa c'è sotto? - Part 6

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Tra l'altro is a turn of phrase people use a lot to resume a conversation or to add some information. It can mean "by the way," or "besides," and more literally means, "among other things." In the same sentence, the speaker uses tra poco to mean "in a short while." Both tra and fra combine with adverbs to mean "in" in terms of time:

Io fra cinque minuti torno.

I'll be back in five minutes.

Caption 35, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP6 Dalla parte degli ultimi - Part 5

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While tra and fra mean the same thing, one might sound better than the other depending on the words following the preposition. In the following example, fra is preferred because the noun following it begins with T. It gives more clarity to the sentence. 

Ecco, prof, io fra tutti ho scelto "L'amico ritrovato" di Uhlman.

OK, professor, out of all of them, I have chosen Uhlman's "The newfound friend" [EN title: "Reunion"]

Caption 1, Provaci ancora prof! S2E4 L'amica americana - Part 7

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Fun Fact:

In the TV series "Imma Tataranni sostituto procuratore," the title of one episode is Come piante fra i sassi (like plants between the rocks). But the title of the book it's based on is Come piante tra i sassi (like plants between the rocks). In other words, one uses fra and one uses tra. And there you have it. Questo è quanto.

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Communication is the most important aspect of speaking a language, so don't worry about getting this "wrong." Nobody will fault you if you choose fra over tra (or vice versa). But you might have fun doing a search of both words (on the videos page) to see how the characters in Yabla videos handle this essential preposition in either of its spellings and pronunciations. It's something to put in your stylistic toolbox if you want to refine your language fluency. When you listen to native Italians speak, pay attention to how they use tra and fra.