prepoznati

Prepoznati is a verb used in the South Slavic languages Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian and Montenegrin. It is the perfective form of the verb to recognize; it means to identify, acknowledge, or discern something, often after observation or analysis. The imperfective counterpart is prepoznavati, used for repeated or general recognition. In addition to recognizing people or signs, prepoznati can be used metaphorically to realize a truth or to discern a problem.

Etymology: The word combines the prefix pre- with poznati (to know). The prefix indicates completion or a shift in perception, yielding the sense of “to come to know and identify.”

Usage and nuance: With a direct object, it typically expresses the act of identifying someone or something: "Prepoznao je lice na fotografiji." It can also mean to identify a cause, feature, or possibility: "Trebao sam prepoznati uzrok problema." In modern usage, the verb is also common in journalism and everyday speech, including phrases like "prepoznati znakove" (to recognize signs). The noun form prepoznavanje denotes recognition as a process, while identifikacija or identifikovati are used in more formal or technical contexts.

See also: prepoznavanje; poznati; identifikovati; identifikacija.