みる

Auxiliary Verb (Group 2) (Basic ㊦ 246)

Do something to see what it’s like or what will happen.

Equivalent: Do something and see; try to do something

私は日本の小説を読んでみる・みます。
I will read Japanese novels (to see what they are like).
面白そうなコンサートだったので行ってみました。
Since it seemed interesting, I went to the concert (to see what it was like).
ここの刺身は美味しいですよ。食べてみますか。
Sashimi here is good. Will you try it?

Formation

Vて みる  
  話してみる Try to talk
  食べてみる Try to eat

Notes

みる is used as an auxiliary verb with Verbて meaning 'make an attempt at doing something to see what it is like or what will happen'.

【Related Expression】

A similar expression, ようとする, means simply 'try to do something'. When these two expressions are used in the past tense, however, their meanings are not the same. For example, [1a] means that Mr. Brown did put on Tom's undershirt, whereas [1b] means that Mr. Brown tried to put it on, with the implication that he couldn't or didn't actually do it.

[1]