Do you know…How to distinguish Japanese from Korean and Chinese?

 

To avoid future embarrassment,

 

let me say our  (Japanese, Korean, Chinese) similarities and differences. This is according to my personal observations and the opinions of my friends with who I shared and discussed the subject.

I always thought (and I still think) I can tell, although I once took a test in which facial pictures of individuals, each belonging to one of the three nationalities, were shown in order to test how accurately one can identify them.

My result was so so… (not bad) ☺️

 

 

The languages aren’t closely related to each other either.

What do you think of the following image? It’s actually the most popular image on the site.

 

 

 

This image is a composite of, from left to right, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese women. To me, the most noticeable thing about that composite image is the difference in skin tone, but the general shape of the face and the hair is also different.

If you can’t distinguish us, one of the reasons you don’t notice this is that Hollywood casting agents really don’t care about the difference. They seem to especially like to cast Korean actors as Japanese characters☺️

 

 

 

 

In the opinion of some people…

 

 

🔴  One of my friends told me like this.

 
“It’s easier to notice the differences among men, for women it’s harder to tell but still possible if you’re familiar enough with them. I successfully guessed Korean tourists in three occasions, though I’m not a fan of Korean stuff, and I’ve never failed in guessing Koreans at other opportunities.”

“I can’t explain how I know a girl in mini market that day was Korean, but for two girls in the bus and a group of tourists in the local restaurant I can. Two girls in the bus, one of them has small lips, small nose, and different eyes shape, while the other just looks like korean artist because of plastic surgery.”

“A group of tourists in the local restaurant, these men were very tall, have muscular body, square face, and again different eyes shape. Several minutes after I thought “they must be Koreans”, they started speaking Korean to one another. I think among the three, Koreans have the most narrow eyes and the brightest skin.”

 

 

♪ Let it go ♪ singers

 

 

🔴 And another friends said to me like this.

 
” Japanese men are very easy to tell, many of them have bronze skin tone, different eyes shape, lots of facial hair, higher and longer nasal bridge and very cool hairstyle, or if I use the words of my neighbor, they look scary lol.”

“For Japanese women, I can’t put into words how I recognize them, yet many of their girls look really beautiful with short-brown hair. Chinese, due to the size of their country, they could have many different appearances, for me they’re just East Asians who generally don’t look like Japanese or Koreans.”

 

U–m 😓

 

 

 

 

Can you tell the difference  between Asian faces?

 

 

Foreigners who live in Japan  usually can distinguish our three faces but not all the time.  If a Korean person has strong facial features it’s a little easier to tell. And about Chinese faces and Japanese faces, some people say there’s a slight difference in the eyes, but you may not see it.

 

Anyway,

Are you able to tell the difference between Asian women’s faces? If so, how can you tell?

 

OK!

Let me test you!

 

 


 

 

🔴  Are they Japanese, Korean, or Chinese?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

The correct answers are as follows ↓

 

Japanese:  ① ④ ⑦

Korean:  ② ⑤ ⑧

Chinese:  ③ ⑥ ⑨

 

 

You did it?  ☺️
 

 

 

 

 

Similarities   ☆

 

1.  Skin

 

Japanese, Korean and Chinese, generally, have the same skin characteristics. It is popular that our skin is more resistant to aging and that we have fair, light porcelain-like skin. It is due to its extreme sensitivity to environmental factors and chemicals effects of some products, which can disrupt the skin’s pH balance.

For this reason, advertising about skin beauty care in Asian countries is very economical as Japanese, Korean and Chinese (especially girls) have to be more careful with products and treatments we use on our skin.

It is even impressive to see the number of skin care products builds on the myth that Asian skin would look amazing and healthy for a long time. So, it is hard to tell who is who if you only look at our skin☺️

 

 

 

2.  Body built

 

There are of course differences in body built among Japanese, Korean and Chinese people. As human as we are, we can be fat, thin, big or small. It all depends on our individual diet and consumption, not to mention our genes.

Although we have a general impression as to how, for example, an American body tend to be (tall and big). Asians, specifically Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, are typically slim body built and kind of short in terms of height. But be careful not to label all of them slim and short, because, as I have said, everyone is different. Some can still be tall, big and fat.

 

 

 

 

Differences ☆

 

1.  Facial Features

We may look the same, but if you are a keen observer eyes, there are a few distinguishing characteristics. The Japanese face is generally longer and wider while the Korean face often has a more prominent jaw and high cheekbones.

The Chinese face is typically round in shape. When it comes to the “windows of the soul”, the Japanese eyes are often described as angled upwards, contrary to the Chinese eyes which are usually angled downwards. Koreans often have smaller eyes.

 

 

【 China 】Skin should look fully hydrated which Chinese will consider then as a luminous to glowy face

 

 

【 Korea 】Korean women want a perfect flawless skin, contoured following the V-line to make their face looking like an oval.

 

 

【 Japan 】Japanese women are looking for a natural, fresh and floral look, very feminine, sometimes judged as ‘ innocent’.

 

 

2.  Dressing style

It is easy to tell whether a person is Japanese or Korean. Just look at how they dress. Japanese people value harmony and uniformity, hence when they dress up, it is something aimed to blend with the majority. Plain, simple and subtle colors are the key to typical Japanese attire. Wearing suits is very common in Japan.

Contrary to Japanese, most Koreans wear bright and more colourful attire.  Korean wear colourful dresses. Also, Korean fashion clothes go with the trend while Japanese fashion clothes put more emphasis on personal touch. Chinese, on the other hand, due to its high cultural diversity is difficult to distinguish.
 

 

 

 
If you visit Japan, Korea and China, please challenge to tell which is what, and who is who.

Even people of geographically close countries and that for a long time before in the history was considered similar without distinction, can look different. It is hard to generalize. We can never actually generalize. As the saying goes “Everyone is unique”!