Translation guide
How to express the idea of disguising yourself as someone or something else in Japanese.
He disguised himself as a police officer and infiltrated the building.
The criminal disguised himself as a doctor and escaped.
Often used for theatrical or costume play, or when someone takes on the role/appearance of a character. Slightly more literary or dramatic.
She disguised herself as a witch and showed up at the party.
Implies impersonation with intent to deceive, often used for online impersonation or fraud.
He disguised himself as a celebrity and committed fraud on social media.
To change your appearance to look like a different gender, age, or social role without impersonating a specific individual.
To put on a costume, mask, or makeup to hide your identity, often for fun or anonymity.
Specifically means dressing up in a costume, like for Halloween or a masquerade. Not necessarily to impersonate someone specific.
I disguised myself as a vampire for Halloween.
Can also be used for general disguise, including costumes, but 仮装 is more specific to festive costumes.
To change your voice, way of speaking, or behavior to avoid being recognized.
変装 (へんそう) is general disguise to hide identity. 仮装 (かそう) is festive costume, like Halloween. 扮装 (ふんそう) is theatrical makeup/costume for a role. For 'disguise oneself as', 変装 is the safest choice.
偽装 (ぎそう) means 'camouflage' or 'falsification', often used for objects, documents, or military deception. It is not used for a person disguising themselves as someone else.
The fox disguised itself as a beautiful girl and appeared.
He disguised himself as Santa Claus and surprised the children.
She disguised her manner of speaking and acted like a different person.