How to form a sentence with 〜てみる [te miru]
The expression 〜てみる[te miru] is actually the ending from the te-form of a volitional combined with みる[miru].
考える → 考えてみる
kangaeru → kangaete miru
Let’s look at the two pieces of this formula:
A volitional verb, or 意志動詞[ishi dōshi], is a verb for an action that someone does on purpose, such as 行く[iku](to go), 見る[miru](to look at), and 考える[ kangaeru](to think). We only use 〜てみる[te miru] with these sorts of controlled actions.
みる[miru], in this structure, functions as a helping verb, and is generally written in hiragana. This distinguishes it from the independent verb 見る[miru] which means “to look” or “to see”. The conjugation of みる[miru], however, is the same as 見る[miru], which is a ru-verb.
Check out this table of examples to see what 〜てみる[te miru] looks like attached to more verbs!
When to use 〜てみる [te miru]?
Broadly, you’ll use 〜てみる[te miru] to say you are trying an action out to see whether it works to achieve some goal or to answer a question. Usually, the action is done to “collect data” or information about how well the action works.
Speaker A:この連続ドラマ、すごくおもしろいですよ。
Kono renzoku dorama, sugoku omoshiroi desu yo.
This serial drama is very entertaining, you know.
Speaker B:へえ、じゃあ今度見てみます。
Hē, jā kondo mite mimasu.
Really? Well then, I’ll try watching it some time.
You’ll see a range of English translations for this ending such as:
“to try one’s hand at …ing”
But you’ll often use this ending even when a verb like “try” is not needed in the English translation.
ペンの書き味を試すために、紙切れに自分の名前を書いてみた。
Pen no kakiaji o tamesu tame ni, kamikire ni jibun no namae o kaite mita.
To test how smoothly the pen writes, I wrote my name on a scrap of paper.
→ You wrote to “gather data” on the pen.
The English verb “to try” has a broader use. Here are two cases where you might use “try” but you wouldn’t use 〜てみる[te miru]:
Don’t use 〜てみた[te mita] if you want to imply that you and failed to do something.
納豆を食べてみた。
Nattō o tabete mita.
❌I tried to eat some fermented soybeans (but couldn’t because I felt sick).
✅I tasted some fermented soybeans (to see if I liked them).
Don’t use 〜てみる[te miru] when you try something to see if you will succeed or fail.
今日は１日中勉強してみます。
Kyō wa ichinichijū benkyō shite mimasu.
❌I’ll try to study all day today (but I might not be able to concentrate).
✅I’ll try studying all day today (and maybe then I’ll do better on the pretest).
Remember, you should always feel confident in your ability to complete the action successfully when using 〜てみる[te miru]. You're just curious about the results of your experiment!
Let’s look now at a couple of special rules for using this ending correctly!
Who tried? Restrictions on the subject of a 〜てみる [te miru] sentence
Most often, you’ll use 〜てみる[te miru] to mark your own actions (as the speaker).
(私が) やってみます。
(Watashi ga) yatte mimasu.
In a question or invitation, you can also use it to mark the listener’s action.
(あなたが) やってみますか。
(Anata ga) yatte mimasu ka.
However, if you want to say that someone else gave something a try, you can’t just use the ending on its own. Instead, you need to make your statement as though you’re reporting what you were told. You’ll usually do this by using a hearsay marker, like 〜そうです[sō desu].
❌ジョンさんがやってみます。
Jon san ga yatte mimasu.
hearsay marker
✅ジョンさんがやってみるそうです。
Jon san ga yatte miru sō desu.
I’ve heard that John will give it a try.
In stories and novels, the past tense ending 〜てみた[te mita] is sometimes used with a subject. This is allowed because the author can get into the head of their characters.
ジャックは豆の木に登ってみた。
Jakku wa mame no ki ni nobotte mita.
Jack climbed up the beanstalk (to see where it leads him).
Check out our post on hearsay in Japanese to learn more about why you’ll generally use these to make statements about what someone else is thinking or feeling!
“Didn’t try”: Can you use 〜てみる [te miru] in a negative sentence?
〜てみる[te miru] is mostly used in affirmative sentences. Though technically it’s grammatical in a negative sentence, it usually will not sound natural.
For example, if your coworker asked you…
Coworker:スキューバダイビングをやってみましたか。
Sukyūba daibingu o yatte mimashita ka.
Did you try scuba diving?
You would not generally use a negative form of 〜てみる[te miru] in your reply.
You:❓いえ、やってみませんでした。
Ie, yatte mimasen deshita.
(Intended) No, I didn’t try doing it.
Instead, you would just say…
You:✅ いえ、やりませんでした。
Ie, yarimasen deshita.
You can use the negative form of 〜てみる[te miru] in an invitation sentence like this:
スキューバダイビングをやってみませんか。
Sukyūba daibingu o yatte mimasen ka.
Why don’t you try scuba diving?
You may also see the negative form of 〜てみる[te miru] miru used in the expression 〜てもみなかった[te mo minakatta] with verbs such as 思う[omou](to think; feel) or 考える[kangaeru](to think; consider). It conveys the speaker’s surprise for an unexpected outcome.
こんなことになるとは、思ってもみなかった。
Kon’na koto ni naru to wa, omotte mo minakatta.
I’ve never expected this (to happen).
“Just a try”: 〜てみる [te miru] actions are small
Using 〜てみる[te miru] indicates that the action is experimental, tentative, or a small sample. Adding this ending therefore marks a task as “small” while also indicating that you’re not 100% confident that it will work. Here are a couple places where this might matter.
Don’t attach 〜てみる[te miru] to an action that is too large! For example, compare the sentences below.
✅弟が作った料理を一口食べてみた。
Otōto ga tsukutta ryōri o hitokuchi tabete mita.
I had a bite of the dish my younger brother made (to see how it tastes).
→ This sounds natural, because one bite is enough to evaluate how you feel.
❓弟が作った料理をたくさん食べてみた。
Otōto ga tsukutta ryōri o takusan tabete mita.
I ate a large portion of the dish my younger brother made (to see how it tastes).
→ This sounds unnatural, because you would figure out how you felt after the first bite. After that, you’re not “trying” it, you’re just eating it!
You can add this ending to be modest, implying that something you did was “just an attempt” or was “nothing special.” Compare:
ケーキを焼きました。
Kēki o yakimashita.
ケーキを焼いてみました。
Kēki o yaite mimashita.
I tried my hand at baking a cake.
Be a little careful with this! While in some situations using 〜てみる[te miru] can indicate modesty, in other situations it might indicate a lack of confidence. For example, if your boss wishes you “good luck” on a presentation, it is best to respond with:
✅はい、がんばります。
Hai, ganbarimasu.
Rather than…
❓はい、がんばってみます。
Hai, ganbatte mimasu.
Yes, I’ll give it a try to do my best (and see how it goes.)
When asking someone to do something, adding 〜てみる[te miru] indicates a smaller request, which is more polite as it doesn’t require as much of a person’s commitment.
ケーキを焼きました。どうぞ召し上がってください。
Kēki o yakimashita. Dōzo meshiagette kudasai.
I baked a cake. Please have some.
ケーキを焼きました。どうぞ召し上がってみてください。
Kēki o yakimashita. Dōzo meshiagatte mite kudasai.
I baked a cake. Please try some (and see how it has turned out).
How to use 〜てみる [te miru] in different kinds of sentences?
So far, we’ve mostly looked at how 〜てみる[te miru] can be used in statements. In this section we’ll look at how it can be combined with different sentence endings and expressions to form different kinds of sentences, like invitations, requests, expressions of desire, commands, and more.
Invitations
We’ve already seen, above, that the ending 〜てみませんか[te mimasen ka] can be used to invite someone to try doing something:
スキューバダイビングをやってみませんか。
Sukyūba daibingu o yatte mimasen ka.
Why don’t you try scuba diving?
Requests
We’ve also already seen the ending 〜てみてください[te mite kudasai] used, above, to politely ask someone to try doing something.
どうぞ召し上がってみてください。
Dōzo meshiagatte mite kudasai.
Please try some (and see how it has turned out).
Expressions of desire
You can use the ending 〜てみたいだ[te mitai da] to express your desire in a more modest way. It’s often translated as “would love to…” rather than “want to…”
いつか京都の一流旅館に泊まってみたいです。
Itsuka Kyōto no ichiryū ryokan ni tomatte mitai desu.
I would love to stay in a first-class Japanese inn in Kyoto some day.
Check out our post on expressing your desires in Japanese to learn more about sentence structures like this!
みたいだ[mitai da] is part of a few different endings. Make sure to look at the form that comes before this, so you don’t get them confused!
“would love to…”
te-form
馬に乗ってみたいです。
Uma ni notte mitai desu.
I’d love to ride a horse.
“apparently…” → plain form + みたいだ[mitai da]
馬に乗ったみたいです。
Uma ni notta mitai desu.
They apparently rode horses.
Expressions of volition, will, or intention
You can use the ending 〜てみよう[te miyō] to express your will or intention to do something.
わからないところは、明日先生に聞いてみよう。
Wakaranai tokoro wa, ashita sensei ni kiite miyō.
As for the parts I don’t understand, I’ll ask my teacher tomorrow.
Check out our post on the Japanese volitional form to learn more about sentence structures like this!
Commands
In a command, you can use the endings 〜てみろ[te miro] or 〜てみなさい[te minasai].
なんだと。もう一度言ってみろ。
Nan da to. Mō ichido itte miro.
→ said by an angry male speaker
Check out our post on commands in Japanese to review this sentence structure.
Dependent events
When you want to mark an event that depends on another event, you can use an ending like 〜てみると[te miruto], 〜てみたら[te mitara], or 〜てみれば[te mireba].
見かけはよくないけど、食べてみたらおいしかった。
Mikake wa yoku nai kedo, tabete mitara oishikatta.
It doesn’t look appetizing, but when I tried it, it was delicious.
Before these three endings, you can sometimes use a non-volitional verb like 降る[furu]((rain/snow) to fall). In this case, though, it means that the natural phenomenon started to happen, not that it tried to happen.
non-volitional verb
心配していた雨も、いざ降ってみると、たいした量ではなかった。
Shinpai shite ita ame mo, iza futte miru to, taishita ryō de wa nakatta.
I had been worried about rain, but when it finally started to fall, it was not so heavy.
