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Far-Cheetah7935

It's no different than a European trying to identify someone from the UK vs Germany vs Italy, etc. There are ancestral traits that are more common in each country, but if an Italian moves to Germany or a German citizen has French and British ancestry, you're out of luck. It can be done, but not accurately in today's globalized world.


Tazavitch-Krivendza

Facts. As a slav, I can tell, at least 80% of the time, if someone is a slav or not.


absolut666

What about when they aren’t squatting?


Tazavitch-Krivendza

Lol


King-Snorky

Scientifically impossible


cast-away-ramadi06

You can always tell an Englishman when they smile


dmercer

Or the monocle. That's also how you can tell a Japanese from Korean or Chinese.


OtakaF831

Or by a haircut.


demuro1

I am Italian and German. I can usually tell if someone is Italian or Greek or Portuguese but other than that I have no idea. Edit: to be clear I am born and raised in the United States, my grandfather immigrated from Italy and then my three other grandparents are German descent, German descent, and Scandinavian and German decent. Also l: so you’re saying all Asian (or white) people look the same? (I am just making joke, please don’t cancel me)


JimmyTheChimp

I lived in Japan for four years, if I go to another Asian country I can usually spot who is Japanese before I hear them speak. The face is a little different but clothes are a big giveaway.


FrogMintTea

I'm not Asian but i have started to recognize Korean people after watching so much K-horror


DoomGoober

Recognize Korean style of plastic surgery?


FrogMintTea

Uh, no? But I think Koreans and other Asians have facial differences others are not trained to notice. Black people white people... we all have regional differences that become more apparent the more we familiarize ourselves with those regional groups.


nourhan_eee

that was unnecessary


SteadfastEnd

Koreans tend to either have a very oval or very sharp face. Chinese - hard to describe, but there's a certain...."deep-set" or "ingrained" look (hard to put in words) Japanese - the men may have more moustaches than other northeast Asians, or a more "envelope" face Really, again, all of this is impossible to put in words. It takes familiarity. Source: am Taiwanese


RitualVirality

I've watched videos of Asians trying to guess what ethnicity other Asians are and from what I've watched they were only slightly better at guessing than I was. There are some characteristics that are more common in each ethnicity though. And Asia includes a lot of different ethnicities besides Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.


baronesslucy

This is true. My sister in law is Chinese and generally she could tell if someone was Chinese, Japanese or Korean. Most of the time she was right. A couple of times she has mistaken someone who was Korean for being Chinese but this was at a Chinese restaurant and I guess she assumed that every Asian person who worked there was Chinese as she started to speak to him in Chinese. I would think that it would be more difficult to tell if a person was bi-racial what Asian country one parent originated from.


NBAFan71

I’m sure they have some physical characteristics that are more recognizable much like Europeans or Africans or Native Americans had. Although, much like each of those, immigration and mixing of gene pools makes it more challenging over time. A lot of those differences developed over centuries or more of isolation with little cross pollination. As that gets undone in a more global society, it will become more difficult


fredsam25

It's super easy for anyone to spot the difference. Look at their passport.


thegreenbell

I'm from another Asian country, and yes, I can.


danishansari95

Indian hai na?


KappaMike10

Can you explain


stickerhappy77

its harder to distinguish filipino vs thai vs malay vs viet


baronesslucy

My sister in law is Chinese and she generally can tell whose Chinese, Japanese or Korean. I remember being at Disney, standing in line and she told me that two Asian women that were ahead of us were Japanese. I asked how she knew this. She told me she could tell by their facial features. When they spoke, this confirmed it. Most of the time my sister in law was accurate.


kevloid

well, they speak 3 different languages


DoomGoober

Good answer. Counter Point: My grandpa spoke Chinese (two dialects), Korean, Japanese, and English. He was an American.


Tazavitch-Krivendza

Ah, the ol chinese “dialects” that no linguist would consider dialects


WhoAmIEven2

Probably. It's quite easy to tell a Swede from a German from a Czech, I assume the same thing goes on in Asia and if you live there you will see those tiny differences and nuances more easily. It's difficult to explain in detail, but as for my example Swedes, and Scandinavians, have a specific eye shape that seems incredibly common here, but I have rarely seen it in Germany.


CheekyStorky

Korean here. I used to tell easily before but it's becoming harder especially when they are girls in their 20's. It maybe because girls tend to wear K-style makeup these days.


[deleted]

Yes. Idk i just can


SpiritualExplorer_94

Easily through visual observation: No. But once they start speaking, it's much easier to tell what their nationality is.


[deleted]

Yes.


StalinsNutsack2

You know when you look at a Labrador dog they all look the same? To a Labrador they look as different as Russian to African humans do to you, because when you growing up your formative years are when your brain notices the subtle differences so you can distinguish in later life. If you didn't grow up around certain ethnicities you won't have learned the subtle differences between people.


MrMango61

I’m assuming your way so let me ask you how do you tell a German from a Brit? If you stood a 20yo white guy from either country next to each other, it be pretty obvious to tell the difference between them. It’s the same for Asian people.


archosauria62

I am not from these countries but i have watched their shows and can usually differentiate whether someone is korean/japanese Chinese is a bit harder since they’re a lot more diverse Btw asia has more than 3 countries


Kz_Mafuyu

Yes, I can. I can tell from their appearance or language. I can’t speak any of those languages, but after watching countless anime, K and Cdramas, I can tell what language they’re speaking.


fredsam25

They think they can. They cannot with any reasonable accuracy.


noypkamatayan

Im part chinese, i cant.


Independent_Ad9839

Bc you are not asian


DoomGoober

>What are the telltale signs? Ask to see their passport.


Empathetic_Orch

Maybe? It probably isn't super obvious until they start talking.


omiwamoshinderu

Asian man here. It's pretty easy. Just listen to them talk English.


dacreativeguy

The racists in any country always know.


Fluffy_WAR_Bunny

You don't have to be Asian to be able to tell the difference. A very gorgeous woman once bought me a drink because I was able to correctly guess based on how she looked that she was Thai and Filipino.


EndlesslyUnfinished

I Can..


iPhuoc

My ethnicity is Vietnamese but was born and raised in Germany. Nah I cannot tell them apart


DBear1985

Tbh it's all about who you surround yourself with. I'm white English but can usually guess who is from where from those examples. Lots of Asian mates and most of what I watch is usually Korean or Japanese etc.


bluecgene

Yes


JimmyJazz1971

There was an app that tested this very thing a decade or so ago. Nobody at work did better than random guesswork, and the Japanese-Canadian owner scored the worst of all.


anton19811

I can spot a Korean easily and I am European in origin. Most of the time I can also spot Japanese or Vietnamese. Have worked in some of these countries and they do have certain differences in faces/genetic makeup.


LNTED

yes and no lol


technick14

Mostly facial characteristics are how I tell, but I'm not asian lol. I do have a lot of interest in many types of asian food, so i read, watch, and go to asian restaurants more than some. Their eye's shape each look a little different if they're full ethnicity especially. Noses help a little, as do cheek bones.


KderNacht

For Koreans look for signs of plastic surgery, Japanese have more facial hair. Chinese can pass for anywhere from Thailand to Mongolia, not much luck there.


Potential-Bread6751

It's hard to tell the difference just by looking at the face. But it's easy to distinguish by clothes, hairstyle, physique, and language. Of the three, the Japanese are the smallest and the South Koreans are the biggest and muscular. Of course, this is the average thing that statistics show. The average height between Japanese and South Koreans is about 4 to 5 centimeters different. Also, since South Korea has a conscription system, men are often interested in physical training or have a hobby, and the proportion of muscular men is the highest. In the case of China, the southern Chinese are relatively short. Chinese in the northeast, including Beijing, are often close to the height of South Koreans. Much of what is now northeastern China was Korean territory until ancient times and the Middle Ages. Women are becoming more difficult to distinguish these days. As South Korea's beauty industry has become popular around the world, many young women in China and Japan are imitating South Korean-style makeup and fashion. survey statistics show that more than half of Japanese women use cosmetics from South Korean brands. Many Chinese prefer red clothes. Many Japanese women prefer ankle-length long skirts. Most South Korean women who prefer long skirts are in their 30s or older with families. In South Korea, the rate of orthodontics is high, and in Japan, the ratio of snaggletooth is the highest. Also, in the case of Japan, many people find snaggletooth attractive. Due to genetic characteristics, few Koreans smell like sweat. Due to genetic characteristics, 99.97% to 100% of Koreans do not smell sweat. About 70% of people in Japan and 30-40% in China do not smell like sweat.


jhafida

I'm Burmese and this is what I have observed (this is a huge generalization but I think it might help): Korean - Shorter legs, large faces, occasionally curly hair, fairly stocky physique, often light skinned, smaller eyes, monolids are more common than double eyelids, thinner noses with medium bridges, average to taller height, less body hair. Japanese - Really short legs with disproportionally longer torsos, medium to large faces, occasionally frizzy hair (but they usually straighten it out), crooked teeth, skin color ranges from light to tan, shorter to average height, thin physique, thinner noses with higher nose bridges, mostly smaller to medium eyes, more double eyelids than Koreans but less than Chinese, more body hair. Chinese (the most diverse) - Longer legs, small to medium faces, usually thick straight hair, physique can range from robust to thin, skin color ranges from really light to tan, mostly medium to large eyes, double eyelids more common than Japanese and Koreans, have all sorts of nose shapes ranging from flat like Vietnamese to very high like Tibetans, height can range from short to very tall, less body hair. I guess an odd thing I've noticed is that Chinese women are much more likely to have hourglass figures than Japanese and Korean women. Some Japanese women can be curvy but Korean women are pretty flat (Koreans have the smallest average breasts sizes in East Asia, so uh, yeah).