you’re so valid for that to be honest, most explanations of the difference are made with leftists in mind, and very few liberals know leftism 101 so very few explanations detailing the difference are written with liberals or new leftists in mind (because knowing leftism 101 makes you not want to be a liberal any more lol)
The dividing line between leftists and liberals is most commonly agreed on as who should own the productive apparatus of society - liberals believe that individuals owning the apparatus necessary to sustain life, liberty, and happiness is fine, and leftists believe that the only ethical path forward is to make all of this apparatus collectively owned. The specific nature of this ownership, and how the ownership transfer should go down, varies a lot between anarchists, communists, Marxists, Democratic Socialists, etc., but we all agree that allowing an individual to own a means of production is a recipe for disaster.
don’t forget