Word · Frequency #8773
discern
辨别；看清楚
to perceive or recognize something using your senses
- 1.
To detect with the senses, especially with the eyes.
察觉,尤指用眼
- 2.
To perceive, recognize, or comprehend with the mind; to descry.
用心感知、识别或理解；看出
- 3.
To distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate or discriminate.
区分某物与另一物；辨别
- 4.
To perceive differences.
察觉差异
察觉,尤指用眼；用心感知、识别或理解；看出；区分某物与另一物；辨别；察觉差异；辨别
In use
From this distance, I could barely discern the shape of the ship on the horizon.
It takes practice to discern the difference between the two similar sounds.
With a magnifying glass, you can discern tiny details in the old map.
discern + noun phrase
直接加宾语表示辨别出某物。
He could discern a faint shape in the darkness.
他能辨出黑暗中的模糊形状。
discern + that clause
跟that从句表示察觉或理解到某事。
She discerned that he was lying.
她察觉出他在撒谎。
discern + wh-clause
跟wh-从句表示辨别出细节或事实。
Connections
Collocations
- discern the difference
- 辨别差异
- It is not always easy to discern the difference between right and wrong.辨别对错之间的差异并不总是容易的。
- discern the truth
- 查明真相
- The detective tried to discern the truth from the conflicting statements.侦探试图从相互矛盾的陈述中查明真相。
- discern between
- 区分
- She can discern between genuine and fake antiques.她能区分真古董和假古董。
- discern a pattern
- 辨别出模式
- Scientists discern a pattern in the data after months of analysis.经过数月的分析，科学家从数据中辨别出一种模式。
- discern clearly
- 清楚地辨别
- Through the fog, he could barely discern the outline of the building clearly.透过雾气，他几乎无法清楚地辨别出建筑物的轮廓。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记‘discern’为‘dis(分离)+cern(看清)’，从乱中分离看清即辨别。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：academic analysis、perceptive observation、critical thinking discern 多用于正式或书面语境，强调通过细致观察或思考进行辨别，日常口语中较少使用。
Pronunciation & Spelling
The words 'concern', 'learn', 'earn', 'fern', 'stern', and 'churn' all rhyme with 'discern' in both British and American English (stressed vowel /ɜː/ followed by /n/ or /rn/). No common lookalikes with different sounds were identified.
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.