N4 · Using the te-form
てみる: trying something to see
the te-form with みる
てみる means doing something to find out what it is like — not trying hard to manage it.
見る means "to see". After a te-form it means doing something and seeing what happens: 一度着てみてください, "try it on". As a helper it is written in kana.
English "try" covers two different ideas, and Japanese separates them. "I tried to open the door, but it was locked" — an effort that may fail — is (よ)うとする: ドアを開けようとしました. "Try the soup and see if it needs salt" — doing it to find out — is てみる: スープを飲んでみてください. With てみる the action really happens; the question is what it turns out to be like.
Three combinations are very common. てみたい is "would like to try": 一度富士山に登ってみたい. てみたらどうですか is a gentle suggestion: "why not try…?" And てみたら in a story introduces what you found: 食べてみたら、おいしかったです, "I tried it, and it was good".
Because it only asks for a try, てみる also makes a suggestion or request sound lighter and less pushy: 聞いてみてください is easier to say yes to than 聞いてください. A habit of making an effort — "I try to walk every day" — is a third idea again, ようにする.
The form
stem (regular) stem (irregular) ending auxiliary verb
| eat → try eating | 食べてみる |
| eat → tried eating, polite | 食べてみました |
| wear → try on | 着てみる |
| ask → ask and see | 聞いてみる |
| read → try reading | 読んでみる |
| go → would like to go and see | 行ってみたい |
| do → try doing | してみる |
The rules one by one
Te-form + みる means doing something to see what it is like.
この靴を履いてみてもいいですか。May I try these shoes on?
An effort that may fail is (よ)うとする, not てみる.
起きようとしましたが、起きられませんでした。I tried to get up, but I couldn't.
てみたい says you would like to try something.
いつか富士山に登ってみたいです。I would like to climb Mount Fuji one day.
てみたらどうですか makes a gentle suggestion.
先生に聞いてみたらどうですか。Why don't you ask the teacher?
A closer look
Three kinds of "try"
Japanese splits English "try" three ways. 寿司を食べてみた: I tried sushi, to see what it is like. 薬を飲もうとした: I tried to take the medicine — I was about to, or attempted it. 野菜を食べるようにしている: I try to eat vegetables, as a habit.
てみる can be followed by a failure, as long as the action itself was done: 開けてみたけど、開かなかった — I did the opening, and the door did not move. What てみる cannot describe is an action that never got under way; that is the job of (よ)うとする.
How to spot it
- てみる
- てみます
- てみたい
- てみてください
- てみたら
- でみる
Example sentences
この料理、ちょっと食べてみてください。Have a taste of this dish.
新しいカフェに行ってみました。I went to check out the new café.
分からなかったので、辞書で調べてみました。I didn't know, so I looked it up in a dictionary.
一度、着物を着てみたいです。I would like to wear a kimono once.
電話してみたら、もう閉まっていました。I rang to check, but they had already closed.
もう一度やってみます。I'll have another go.
7 more example sentences
このペン、書きやすいですよ。使ってみますか。This pen is nice to write with. Do you want to try it?
彼に聞いてみたけど、知らなかった。I asked him, but he didn't know.
初めて納豆を食べてみました。I tried natto for the first time.
会社を辞めて、外国に住んでみたいです。I'd like to quit my job and try living abroad.
一回会ってみたら？Why not meet them once and see?
試しに自分で作ってみました。I had a go at making it myself.
言いたいことがあったら、言ってみて。If there's something you want to say, go on, say it.
Worth knowing (2)
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みてみる is not a stammer
Because the helper みる is written in kana, it can follow 見る itself: 見てみる is "have a look and see". The first is the verb, the second the helper, and Japanese speakers hear nothing odd in it.
ちょっと見てみましょう。Let's have a look.
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A polite way to say no
考えてみます promises to think about it. In a shop or a negotiation it is also the standard way of declining without saying so; whether it means "yes, later" or "never" is in the tone.
ありがとうございます。ちょっと考えてみます。Thank you. I'll think about it.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
"I try to walk every day" means making a point of it as a habit, and that is ようにしている. てみる is a single experiment to see what something is like, and does not combine with a daily routine.
てみる is "do it and see", not "make an effort".
Your turn
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