てみる — Try Doing (and See)
Expresses doing something experimentally to see what happens or what it is like. Comes from 見る (to see) — you 'do and see'.
Structure
[Verb te-form] + みる
Examples
この料理を食べてみてください。
Kono ryouri o tabete mite kudasai.
Please try eating this dish.
食べて + みて + ください = give eating it a try
新しい方法で挑戦してみます。
Atarashii houhou de chousen shite mimasu.
I'll try tackling it with a new method.
挑戦して + みます = attempt it (experimentally)
今度の週末、あの喫茶店に行ってみます。
Kondo no shuumatsu, ano kissaten ni itte mimasu.
This weekend, I'll try going to that coffee shop.
行って + みます = go and see what it's like
• てみる = do something to see how it goes; it is written in kana, not 〜て見る. • Not the same as 試す (tamesu, 'to test/try out' as a standalone verb). • てみたら = if/when you try it; てみた = tried it and found out.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones てみる is tested against.
vs 〜てしまう
てみる = try an action on purpose to see the result; てしまう = an action gets completed, often unintentionally or with regret — opposite intent.
More verb forms
- てくる — Come Doing / Has Been Doing (Toward Now)
- Potential Form — Can / Be Able To (Verbs)
- がる／がっている — Describing Others' Feelings
- 〜出す (だす) — Abrupt Eruptions
- 〜始める (はじめる) — Intentional Beginnings
- 意向形 (いこうけい) — Volitional Form (Let's / I'll)
- くする / にする — Make something become (a quality)
- ながら — While doing (simultaneous actions, same subject)
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