The truth about East Asians....

[manganimefan227]

The first is Korean the last is Japanese!

[NishiHime]

what an awesome topic RoninForHire

I can definitely tell the different between Cambodian/Thai/Vietnamese vs. Korean, Japanese & Chinese but until I hear the latter 3 speak or get their names, I cannot always be accurate about their national origin from looks alone.

Same with Indian - I can normally tell who is from north India or who is from South but you can't do it with 100& accuracy. I myself have been asked if I'm north Indian and I'm definitely from the south

- Nishi

[amandabenami]

i can tell whether a person is a Korean, Jap, or Chinese i don't know but i just did.

[TalnSG]

All of this assumes that the person's heritage is strongly one or the other of the races. Given the mobility throughout Asia, relying on physical traits can be a good clue, but its also a set up for failure. Even names and languages can be misleading.

You need to weigh the physical characteristics, cultural mannerisms, language & accent and the name before jumping to any conclusion.

I have a dear friend who is native Korean, but unless you knew his name or spoke to him in Korean you would think he was Japanese. After living there many years, his mannerisms and speech are primarily Japanese and his looks are blended enough to be of little help.

And after years of living around Vietnamese, I met someone the other day I would have sworn was northern Chinese or Korean and been very wrong since he and his family are from around Da Nang.

[nobora]

i've noticed that koreans tend to have a flatter face. chinese men are shorter than japanese men. but thats me playing a game in my head called “ try and figure out what race everyone is”

[SamuraiAlchemistNinja]

I can sometimes tell the difference by looks alone, but usually I try to catch names first, and if the name matches what decent I think they look like based on looks, I usually am right. However...I have an asian colleage who I believe looks of Chinese origin, but...recently I learned his name, which is Neville Reynolds. Now, those are British/English names. So trying to learn from names with him obviously isn't going to work. Does anyone know any more distinct Chinese characteristics?

[nyong]

Originally Posted by hadron

Although I believe it is easy for you to distinguish the two, still I would have no clue who is who.

Anyway, these situations can be a lot of fun, like one day on the job I met a korean guy who just started on the site and when he saw me, he started to talk to me in korean language. And I said "Sorry, what did you say?" cause I didn't get a picture that time
And he said, "oh, you are not korean? I though you are korean."
Then I had to explain him, that I am slovakian, coming from the heart of Europe.
So I wonder where did he come up with the korean idea .

I've met native Poles, Latvians and Hungarians who could pass easily for Asians. What surprised my the most were the Poles and the Latvians.

[mousee09]

i have a japanese friend, who mistake my other friend for being chinese when she was korean. so is there a difference i dont really think so, fashion wise i guess you can tell, physical wise i dont think so.

[SaintKat]

The only asians I can point out are Indians, but that's not hard lol. I can usually tell polynesians apart, maybe because I am one?

[Jaydelart]

What an old thread.

I do believe that certain people are more likely to inherit certain physical traits than others because of where they are from; That a specific trait, while not exclusive to any one people, can still represent those of a specific group, based on the level of likelihood that it will occur in that group.

I also believe that every physical trait is universal. A trait predominant in one country can also be found in others, to varying, lesser degrees. There have been many cases where I've noticed that someone from one ethnicity shared the trait of that of another significantly different.

Identifying random people, in my opinion, involves working with layers of generalizations. For example: An individual can be Eastern, then Asian, then East Asian, then Japanese, then a Tokyo Native.