The phrase "a certain impression" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to a specific feeling or perception that someone has about a person, situation, or object, without being overly specific.
Example: "After our conversation, I was left with a certain impression that he was not entirely honest with me."
Alternatives: "a particular impression" or "a specific impression".
THE prime minister, Shinzo Abe, clearly wants to convey a certain impression.
"They have a certain impression of what white people are like.
But checking into a hotel or resort with your pet undoubtedly carries a certain impression of affluence.
If you look at a painting, you are left with a certain impression the artist wants to give you.
I once asked Gregory if a certain impression I had of mathematicians was true, that they spent immoderate amounts of time declaring each other's work trivial.
"But I realized I didn't want to find out too much because I had a certain impression from my memory," he said.
Your colleagues may have built up a certain, inaccurate impression of you — that you're not leadership material because you're too mousy and quiet, for instance.
"So it's very difficult for us to pin down with certainty that a given feature of the face is contributing to a certain social impression".
Lauda: I have this certain impression, the wrong impression, that these movie people are living their own world.
Rather, the jumpsuited man, a sturdy, almost fat one this time, with heavy, black-rimmed eyeglasses and a Yankees cap shielding him from the rain, appeared to be some kind of inspector, charged with insuring the rightness of the site and recording in cryptic shorthand, with a ballpoint pen on a clipboarded sheet, certain impressions.
It's not a secret that whatever goes on these cards can convey certain impressions and engender judgment -- if my post-nominal letters are influencing the weight of my gold, I want to know how.
