What's new

All look the same?

thomas

Unswerving cyclist
Admin
14 Mar 2002
15,970
9,208
749
Hehe, the better half and I just did the test:

can you say who's Chinese, Japanese or Korean just by seeing their faces?


Scores:

My better half: 3
Thomas: 8 (yep, mostly guessing)
 
hehe I got 5.

something was interesting is that many of these Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans have probaly lived in the US or Canada for a while. Facial Expressions were very western to me at times.

Also, interesting that I made a few choices on clothing, Eye structure, and chin.
 
I got 11. I find that this sample isn't really representative/typical though. Are these Asian living in America or in a Western country ? If they were born abroad and don't even speak the language of their original country, then the chances are they've lost their characteristics. I noticed that I could tell remarkably clearly that Asians or Africans born and raised in the UK were actually from the UK, just by the look in their eyes. It works best for male from South Asian (Indian-Pakistani), Arabic or Adrican origin.
 
Last edited:
I insist that it's very possible to tell the difference between East Asians, for I have been several times to Korea and live in Japan. I flew quite a few times in planes composed half of Japanese and half of Korean and even flight attendant can usually tell the difference when they address someone (they have to know whether to speak in Korean or Japanese and rarely mistake). It is absolutely normal that Japanese can't tell the difference since most of them have never really thought about it or haven't been to Korea or China.

I did a little test, no later than last week in Incheon Airport (Seoul) trying to guess who was Japanese and who was Korean at the gate before boarding. I decided then approached to check what language they spoke. I got about 80% right. The hint is not in the clothes but in facial features, deeper and a bit more "Western" for Japanese, and rounder, flatter faces for Koreans. The eyes and smiles are a bit different too. You need to know a bit of both culture to recognise this. Koreans have squarer jaws too.

Some Chinese have darker or more "yellow" skin. They surely have squarer and harsher features than Japanese. This is certainly due to the life style and this difference is likely to disappear with time as Chinese will get richer and live more like Japanese. That is why, it's much more difficult to tell who's who if they live in the same country (Japan, US, etc). It's near impossible to tell a Korean or Chinese born and raised in Japan, because I believe the mentality (language) and lifestyle play the most important role in facial expression.
 
Originally posted by Maciamo
It is absolutely normal that Japanese can't tell the difference since most of them have never really thought about it or haven't been to Korea or China.

What about Chinese or Koreans? Do you think they can tell the difference? Do they recognize Japanese at first glance?


...because I believe the mentality (language) and lifestyle play the most important role in facial expression.

I agree with you.
 
Originally posted by thomas
What about Chinese or Koreans? Do you think they can tell the difference? Do they recognize Japanese at first glance?

Of course not. If it's true for the Japanese, it's also true for Chinese, Koreans and others.
 
o.o'

I got a 7 .. it's nice to know I got the Japanese people right. -_-;;; That's really hard, though.
 
Ha! I got 12, BUT....a lot of them were just lucky guesses. I agree that test is pretty hard. I can tell the difference between them in person, usually, but it's more based on actions than anything else.

I think I'll get my husband to take this...hehehe...
 
i got a 15 - its funny ive always try to uess when i see asian people - there are some clues -
most korean girls have their hair black striaght
its hard to descibe -- its sometimes hard to tell.
people see my blonde hair & blue eyes
and are suprized im spanish
 
Originally posted by masaki
i got a 15 - its funny ive always try to uess when i see asian people - there are some clues -
most korean girls have their hair black striaght
its hard to descibe -- its sometimes hard to tell.
people see my blonde hair & blue eyes
and are suprized im spanish

I can usually tell by the clothing they wear...
 
I got 7 points. It's pretty hard to make a difference...when I was sure this people must be from this country I was totally wrong.
 
In real life, there are lot's of clues like clothes, hairstyle, facial expression, behaviour, etc. But, on these pictures it's much harder to tell (as I suspect they were all living in a Western country when the pics were taken)
 
I got 7 right! hehe...

On a japanese drama I saw a guy from Korea said:
- She does look japanese!

hehehe :)
 
I have a hard time between Chinese and Korean. I noticed all three ethnicities have a mix match of the same eyes. Some more obvious to that group. I think Japanese have a a few different eye shapes. I notice with my in-laws.
That test was cool. Maybe the more times I take it , I will be better at telling and not make the mistakes I have in the past.
Chinese get quite offended when I mistake for Japanese.
 
Originally posted by Maciamo
Are these Asian living in America or in a Western country ? If they were born abroad and don't even speak the language of their original country, then the chances are they've lost their characteristics.

How is it possible for Asians to lose their facial characteristics just by living in a different land?

Anyway, I think western stereotypes of what Japanese people look like comes a lot from their pop culture. Japanese usually go more for the cute look, so many of their pop stars are "cute." Since we've seen more of the Japanese who look this way, we assume that all Japanese must look this way. Whereas for Chinese pop, a lot of the stars are pretty old, so they assume that all Chinese people have harsher features.
 
Back
Top Bottom