てみる try doing: Meaning & Examples

How てみる works

Everyday forms include てみたい "want to give it a try" (一度行ってみたい) and てみましょう / てみてください for inviting or encouraging someone to try.

構文こうぶんConstruction

• Verb て-form + みる

  この漢字の読み方を調べてみる。 — I’ll look up how to read this kanji and see.

• Verb て-form + みたい

  一度京都に行ってみたい。 — I’d love to visit Kyoto someday.

• Verb て-form + みてください / てみましょう

  このボタンを押してみてください。 — Please try pressing this button.

• Verb て-form + みると / てみたら (and found…)

  箱を開けてみると、手紙が入っていた。 — When I opened the box, there was a letter inside.

例文れいぶんIn a sentence

注意点ちゅういてんNuances

• With kanji, 見る is only the literal verb "to see."
• てみる means the action actually happens; for an attempt that may not succeed (a stuck door, a word you could not recall), use 〜ようとする instead: 開けようとしたが、開かなかった.
• てみると / てみたら often introduces a discovery: 考えてみると "come to think of it," 開けてみたら "when I opened it, (I found…)."
• Casual speech drops to てみて for invitations (食べてみて! "try it!") and てみれば for mild suggestions.

練習れんしゅうYour Turn

Tip

Think of a food, place, or hobby you have never tried and write a sentence with てみたい — then invite a friend to try it with てみて or てみましょう.

てみる (try doing) in real sentences

Each one is quoted from a published Japanese text in this library and links to the story it came from. Some use older spellings, or break off where the sentence carried on. They are transcribed exactly as their authors wrote them.

Appears in 26 of 367 texts in our library.