Grammar › Core Patterns
〜てみる — “try doing (and see)”
Trying something out: 食べてみてください — please try eating it
て-form + みる (from 見る, “to see”) means to try an action in order to find out what happens — “do X and see.” It's used constantly with food recommendations, new experiences, and gentle suggestions.
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| て-form + みる | 着る → 着てみる — try it on (and see how it looks) |
| Polite request: 〜てみてください | 食べてみてください — please try eating it |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| この服、着てみてもいいですか。 | このふく、きてみてもいいですか。 konofuku、kitemitemoiidesuka。 | May I try this clothing on? |
| 一度、京都に行ってみたいです。 | いちど、きょうとにいってみたいです。 ichido、kyoutoniittemitaidesu。 | I'd like to try visiting Kyoto once. |
| よく分からないので、先生に聞いてみます。 | よくわからないので、せんせいにきいてみます。 yokuwakaranainode、senseinikiitemimasu。 | I don't quite understand, so I'll try asking the teacher. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
てみる's みる is never written as 観る/見る in kanji here — it's always kept in hiragana to show it's the grammatical “try” meaning, not literally “to see.”