1.
self-identity; ego identity
The sense of who one is as a continuous, unified person — a psychological term for one's awareness of being oneself. Often associated with Erik Erikson's theory of identity formation.
自己同一性の確立。
The establishment of self-identity.
青年期は自己同一性を形成する時期だ。
Adolescence is the period when self-identity is formed.
長年海外で暮らした彼は、自己同一性に悩むことがあった。
Having lived abroad for many years, he sometimes struggled with his sense of self-identity.
Composed of 自己 (self), 同一 (sameness, identity), and the suffix 性 (-ness, -ity). A technical term from developmental psychology, especially associated with Erik Erikson's theory, in which forming a stable 自己同一性 is the central task of adolescence. In everyday Japanese, the loanword アイデンティティ is more common.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 自己同一性の確立: the establishment of self-identity
- 自己同一性を形成する: to form one's self-identity
- 自己同一性の危機: identity crisis
- 自己同一性を失う: to lose one's sense of self
SIMILAR WORDS:
- アイデンティティ: identity — the everyday loanword, far more common in casual speech and writing
- 自我: the ego, the self — a more general philosophical/psychological term
- 自己意識: self-consciousness, self-awareness — emphasizes the awareness itself rather than a continuous identity