May 5, 2017 20:34
7 yrs ago
11 viewers *
English term
31 years experience with thanks.
Native in: Japanese (Variant: Standard-Japan) 
Works in: Japanese to English, English to Japanese
fill out
Non-PRO
English
Other
Other
Fill out the form in your own hand after you have confirmed information on the following items:
※Fill in the area lined in red using a ballpoint pen.
out and in are used in the above sentences.
Is there any difference between them?
※Fill in the area lined in red using a ballpoint pen.
out and in are used in the above sentences.
Is there any difference between them?
Responses
| 5 +5 | fill in, complete |
philgoddard
|
| 5 +1 | fill in / fill out |
Jennifer Levey
|
Responses
+5
16 mins
philgoddard
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
44
Selected
fill in, complete
They both mean the same thing.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tony M
3 mins
|
| agree |
Jack Doughty
: "Fill out" was unheard of in UK English until recently, it was always "fill in".
27 mins
|
| agree |
Yasutomo Kanazawa
8 hrs
|
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
17 hrs
|
| agree |
acetran
2 days 13 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you very much!
I like "complelte.""
+1
1 hr
Jennifer Levey
Chile
Chile
Native in English
&
English
Chile
Human-scale Globalization
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
fill in / fill out
There is insufficient information in the question, as posted, to allow us to determine whether "fill in" and "fill" out mean the same thing - complete - (as Phil suggests) or whether they mean different things.
It depends on what "area lined in red" refers to.
IF "area lined in red" refers to "the questions enclosed by the red box" (for example, the red box might contain questions that are mandatory), then "fill in" means "provide answers to those questions".
BUT, if "area lined in red" refers to each of a set of small red check boxes in a multiple-choice question, then "fill in" means "colour the entire area within the red box with ink". This is often required if the form is to be processed automatically, using OCR: the tiny boxes must be filled with contrasting colour, not "ticked" ("checked").
Let's hope Asker has sight of the form and can decide which meaning is intended.
It depends on what "area lined in red" refers to.
IF "area lined in red" refers to "the questions enclosed by the red box" (for example, the red box might contain questions that are mandatory), then "fill in" means "provide answers to those questions".
BUT, if "area lined in red" refers to each of a set of small red check boxes in a multiple-choice question, then "fill in" means "colour the entire area within the red box with ink". This is often required if the form is to be processed automatically, using OCR: the tiny boxes must be filled with contrasting colour, not "ticked" ("checked").
Let's hope Asker has sight of the form and can decide which meaning is intended.
Discussion
HOWEVER, that doesn't mean they are universally interchangeable!
When talking about a form as a whole, we can say 'fill in' or 'fill out'; however, when talking about one particular box / space on the form, we have really to use 'fill in' — which is exactly the way the two terms are being used in your source text.