てみる | Try Doing Something

What is てみる?

てみる means "try doing something to see what it's like." It's the Japanese way of saying "give it a shot," "try it out," or "see what happens if you do it." Want to try eating natto? Try speaking Japanese with a stranger? Try on that jacket? All てみる situations.

The pattern is simple: take the て form of a verb and add みる. The みる here is written in hiragana, not 見(み)る (to see), because it's functioning as an auxiliary verb -- a helper that adds meaning to the main verb rather than standing on its own.

How to Form It

Conjugating てみる

Since みる here is a ru-verb, it conjugates like any other ru-verb. This is covered in our lesson on verb conjugation basics:

The past tense てみた is particularly useful: "I tried it (and here's what happened)."

てみる vs ようとする

Both can translate to "try" in English, but they mean very different things:

てみる -- try doing something to see the result. You're curious, you want to experience it. The attempt itself usually succeeds; you're interested in the outcome.

• 納豆(なっとう)を食(た)べてみた。
  I tried eating natto. (I ate it to see what it was like.)

ようとする -- try to do something, as in make an effort or attempt. The action may or may not succeed. The focus is on the struggle.

• 納豆(なっとう)を食(た)べようとした。
  I tried to eat natto. (I attempted it -- maybe I couldn't.)

When you tell someone てみて, you're saying "give it a shot!" not "struggle to do it."

Common Uses

てみる shows up a lot in suggestions and invitations:

• 一(いち)度(ど)やってみてください。
  Please try doing it once.
• これ、飲(の)んでみて！
  Try drinking this!
• 日本語(にほんご)で話(はな)してみましょう。
  Let's try speaking in Japanese.

It's also common when talking about your own experiences. てしまう expresses regret about completing something, but てみる is neutral or positive -- you tried something and you're reporting on the experience.

Example Sentences

• 新(あたら)しいレストランに行(い)ってみた。 (atarashii resutoran ni itte mita.)
  I tried going to a new restaurant.

• この靴(くつ)、履(は)いてみてもいいですか？ (kono kutsu, haite mite mo ii desu ka?)
  May I try these shoes on?

• 日本語(にほんご)で手紙(てがみ)を書(か)いてみました。 (nihongo de tegami wo kaite mimashita.)
  I tried writing a letter in Japanese.

• やってみないと分(わ)からない。 (yatte minai to wakaranai.)
  You won't know unless you try.

• 一(いっ)口(くち)食(た)べてみて！おいしいよ。 (hitokuchi tabete mite! oishii yo.)
  Try a bite! It's delicious.

• 自分(じぶん)で作(つく)ってみようと思(おも)う。 (jibun de tsukutte miyou to omou.)
  I think I'll try making it myself.

• 先生(せんせい)に聞(き)いてみたら？ (sensei ni kiite mitara?)
  Why don't you try asking the teacher?

• このアプリを使(つか)ってみてください。 (kono apuri wo tsukatte mite kudasai.)
  Please try using this app.