LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 95 JLPT N4
Giving It a Try (〜てみる)
てみる attaches to a verb’s て-form and means “try doing it,” testing something out to see what happens. みる here comes from 見る, to look or see, but once attached to て it no longer means “look,” it means “try and find out.”
I tried going to the university bookstore.
I tried sitting in on various classes.
In Real Life
てみる conjugates exactly like いる at the end, てみます, てみました, てみたい, てみたことがある, layering neatly onto patterns you already know. 図書館で本を借りてみました combines it with a plain past action, “I tried borrowing a book from the library.”
Why don't you try watching an interesting movie?
I'd like to try climbing Mt. Fuji.
In Real Life
てみたらどうですか, built on たら, softens a suggestion into “why don’t you try,” and てみたい, built on たい, expresses wanting to try something you haven’t done yet, both leaning on grammar you’ve already met.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| to borrow | |
| to use | |
| to take a walk | |
| to ride, get on | |
| yoga | |
| supplement | |
| sashimi | |
| to climb | |
| novel | |
| skiing | |
| to experience | |
| for the first time | |
| to test, try out | |
| fascinating | |
| to challenge oneself | |
| famous | |
| looks delicious | |
| together | |
| casually, without hesitation | |
| result |