Nonlinear system identification often involves a fundamental trade-off between interpretability and flexibility, often requiring the incorporation of physical constraints. We propose a unified data-driven framework that combines the mathematical structure of the governing differential equations with the flexibility of neural networks (NNs). At the core of our approach is the concept of characteristic curves (CCs), which represent individual nonlinear functions (e.g., friction and restoring components) of the system. Each CC is modeled by a dedicated NN, enabling a modular and interpretable representation of the system equation. To demonstrate the versatility of the CC-based formalism, we introduce three identification strategies: (1) SINDy-CC, which extends the sparse regression approach of SINDy by incorporating the mathematical structure of the governing equations as constraints; (2) Poly-CC, which represents each CC using high-degree polynomials; and (3) NN-CC, which uses NNs without requiring prior assumptions about basis functions. Our results show that all three approaches are well-suited for systems with simple polynomial nonlinearities, such as the van der Pol oscillator. In contrast, NN-CC demonstrates superior performance in modeling systems with complex nonlinearities and discontinuities, such as those observed in stick-slip systems. The key contribution of this work is to demonstrate that the CC-based framework, particularly the NN-CC approach, can capture complex nonlinearities while maintaining interpretability through the explicit representation of the CCs. This balance makes it well-suited for modeling systems with discontinuities and complex nonlinearities that are challenging to assess using traditional polynomial or sparse regression methods, providing a powerful tool for nonlinear system identification.