Translation guide
The act of recognizing, proving, or establishing who or what someone or something is. This guide covers common ways to express identification in Japanese, from showing ID to identifying a person or problem.
To present official documents to prove who you are.
Standard term for identification documents like driver's license, passport, etc.
身分証明書を見せてください。
Please show me your identification.
Refers to the process of identity verification, often used in banking or online services.
口座開設には本人確認が必要です。
Identity verification is required to open an account.
Commonly used in casual or spoken contexts, often referring to an ID card.
ID持ってる？
Do you have your ID?
To recognize or point out who or what something is.
Used for pinpointing or specifying a person, object, or cause. Often used in formal or technical contexts.
犯人の特定が急がれる。
Identification of the culprit is urgent.
問題の原因を特定する。
Identify the cause of the problem.
Focuses on distinguishing or discriminating between things, often used in technical or scientific contexts.
To tell apart or distinguish by looking. Common in everyday speech.
To feel a connection or understanding with someone or something.
To empathize or feel the same emotions. Often used when you identify with someone's feelings or situation.
彼の苦労に共感する。
I identify with his struggles.
Literally 'to overlay oneself', meaning to see oneself in someone else's situation.
主人公に自分を重ねて読んだ。
I read it while identifying with the main character.
To associate oneself with a particular group, identity, or belief.
Sense of belonging or identification with a group.
会社への帰属意識が強い。
I have a strong identification with the company.
To equate oneself with something or someone, often used in psychology or social contexts.
ファンは選手と自分を同一視する。
Fans identify themselves with the players.
The English noun 'identification' often becomes a verb phrase in Japanese. For example, 'the identification of the suspect' is naturally expressed as 容疑者を特定する (to identify the suspect). Using a direct noun like 特定化 is unnatural.
特定 (tokutei) is used for specifying or pinpointing something unknown, like a person or cause. 識別 (shikibetsu) is for distinguishing between known categories, like colors or species. Use 特定 when you need to find out what something is, and 識別 when you need to tell things apart.
色の識別が難しい。
It's difficult to identify colors.
双子を見分けるのは難しい。
It's hard to identify the twins.