identificar
/identifiˈkaɾ/
The English phrase 'identify' is translated into Spanish as identificar.
identificar means to establish the identity of someone or something.
Meaning: to establish the identity of someone or something (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The infinitive form identificar is a regular -ar verb. If you are talking about a specific person, you must use the personal 'a' (for example, identificar al hombre means 'to identify the man'). If you are identifying an object, the direct object pronoun lo (it) is attached to the end of the infinitive, resulting in identificarlo. The third-person singular preterite form is identificó, which means 'he/she/it identified'.
How do you pronounce it?
/identifiˈkaɾ/
Did you know?
- When a scientist or doctor 'identifies' a species or a virus in Spanish, they frequently use the verb aislar, which means 'to isolate'.
- In many Latin American countries, if you are asked to 'identificarse', it is a formal way of asking you to present your official identification documents.
- The suffix -ificar in identificar is a productive ending in Spanish used to turn nouns or adjectives into verbs meaning 'to make' or 'to treat as'.
Examples in context
- ¿Puedes identificar al hombre en esta foto?Can you identify the man in this picture?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can use identificar to recognize a person in a photo.Tatoeba #2261304 by marcelostockle, translation #265299 by Eldad
- ¿La inteligencia artificial puede identificar enfermedades con precisión?Can AI accurately identify diseases?This sentence is useful for asking about the ability of AI to use identificar for diseases.Tatoeba #10185632 by Seael, translation #10185621 by Amastan
- ¿Puedes identificarlo?Can you identify that?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can use identificar to identify an object.Tatoeba #5568876 by swyter, translation #3327773 by CK
- Es necesario identificar a todos los pasajeros antes de abordar el avión.It is necessary to identify all passengers before boarding the plane.
- La víctima pudo reconocer al ladrón en una fila de sospechosos.The victim was able to identify the thief in a lineup of suspects.
- Al final, logramos descubrir al culpable del error.In the end, we managed to identify the culprit of the mistake.
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Javier are looking at a mysterious insect in the garden.
- Lucía¿Sabes qué es este bicho, Javier?Do you know what this bug is, Javier?
- JavierNo puedo identificarlo sin una lupa.I cannot identify it without a magnifying glass.
- LucíaBusquemos en un libro para identificarlo.Let's look in a book to identify it.
- JavierBuena idea, Lucía.Good idea, Lucía.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “identify” translations and entries identificar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
