Sam Great idea! Let's do 'recognise' first. If you 'recognise' someone, it means you know them because you have seen or heard them before. It's possible you've never met them – like with a celebrity, for example – but you've seen them before.
Jiaying “Recognise” 既可以用来表示 “认出(某人的面孔),听出(某人的声音)”,也可以表示 “认出、听出(某物)”。比如:因为你去过某处,所以 “recognise the place(认出这个地方)”;因为曾听见过,所以 “recognise the sound(听出这个声音)”;因为感同深受,所以 “recognise the feeling(领会这种感受)”。来听三个例句。
Examples I hadn't seen my childhood friend for years, but I recognised him straight away. (我多年未见儿时好友,但当时我一眼就认出了他。)
Don't you recognise this song? It's super famous. (你听不出这是哪首歌吗?它可有名了。)
The doctor was able to quickly recognise her symptoms. (医生很快就辨识出了她的症状。)
Sam And, again, we can use it with things. So, we don't just know the thing, we can say or prove what the thing is, and separate it from other similar things. Let's hear some examples for 'identify' now.
Examples Babies can identify their mother by her voice even when they're very little. (婴儿在很小的时候就可以通过声音认出自己的妈妈。)
Marine biologists were able to identify the whale by its fin. (海洋生物学家能够通过鲸鱼鳍来识别它。)
Police haven't been able to identify the criminal yet. (警方还未能确定罪犯的身份。)