〜てみる

てみる
auxiliary
to try doing; to do and see how it goes
grammatical
1. to try doing (something); to do it and see what happens
Te-form of a verb plus 見(み)る, written in kana. It says the action is done as an attempt, to find out the result: 食(た)べてみる (try eating it and see how it tastes). The trying is tentative, not effortful.
ちょっと食(た)べてみる。
I'll have a taste and see.
この靴(くつ)を履(は)いてみてもいいですか。
May I try these shoes on?
難(むずか)しそうだけど、まずは自分(じぶん)でやってみます。
It looks difficult, but I'll try doing it myself first.
実際(じっさい)に住(す)んでみると、この町(まち)の良(よ)さが分(わ)かってきた。
Once I actually tried living here, I came to see what is good about this town.

The auxiliary is written in kana (やってみる), while the ordinary verb 見(み)る (to look) keeps its kanji. It conjugates as a normal ichidan verb: 見(み)てみた、見(み)てみたい、見(み)てみよう.

Common patterns

  • 〜てみてください: please give it a try
  • 〜てみたい: I'd like to try doing
  • 〜てみよう: let's try doing
  • 〜てみたら／〜てみると: on actually doing it, (I found that…)

Usage

〜てみる is a softener as well as a real 'try': 考(かんが)えてみます sounds less committal than 考(かんが)えます, and やってみて sounds gentler than やって. Note that it does not mean 'attempt but fail' — for that, use 〜ようとする.

Similar words

  • 〜ようとする: to attempt to — used when the attempt may not succeed
  • 〜てしまう: to end up doing — completion or regret, not experiment

Related Words

Related: 見(み)る (the verb it comes from)
Related: 〜ておく (another て-form auxiliary)
Related: 〜てしまう (another て-form auxiliary)

Related Articles

The Te-Form Helper Verbs: ている, ておく, てしまう, and More
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Added 2026.8.8 21:24 · Revised 2026.10.6 4:12
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