Meaning & Usage
✨ Basic Meaning
“Try doing…” or “Go ahead and do…”
🎯 Primary Function
To gently suggest or encourage someone (usually younger or lower in status) to try something, see something, or experience something.
📋 Grammar Structure
Verb て-form + ごらん / ごらんなさい
🎭 Usage Contexts
Formal Situations
Generally not used in formal situations.
Informal Situations
Commonly used in informal settings among family, friends, or towards children.
Written Language
Primarily used in dialogue in written language (e.g., novels, manga). Less common in formal essays or reports.
Spoken Language
Very common in everyday spoken Japanese.
💡 Common Applications
Encouraging someone to taste food.
When offering food, you can encourage the other person to try it.
Example: このケーキ、おいしいよ。ちょっと食べてごらん。 (Kono kēki, oishii yo. Chotto tabete goran.) – This cake is delicious. Go ahead and try a little.
Suggesting someone experience something.
Suggesting someone see, hear, or feel something for themselves.
Example: あの山の景色、本当に素晴らしいよ。一度見に行ってごらん。 (Ano yama no keshiki, hontō ni subarashii yo. Ichido mi ni itte goran.) – The view from that mountain is truly wonderful. You should go and see it once.
Telling someone to try doing something to solve a problem or learn.
Suggesting a specific action to try.
Example: 分からないなら、先生に聞いてごらんなさい。 (Wakaranai nara, sensei ni kiite gorannasai.) – If you don’t understand, try asking the teacher.
Frequency
Moderately frequent in informal spoken Japanese.
Difficulty
Intermediate (JLPT N3) – Requires understanding of て-form and appropriate social context.
Example Sentences
疲れているみたいだね。少し休んでごらん。
You look tired. Try resting for a bit.
この新しいアプリ、すごく便利だよ。使ってみごらんなさい。
This new app is really convenient. Try using it.
怖がらないで。一度やってごらん。大丈夫だよ。
Don’t be scared. Try doing it once. It’s okay.
Notes & Nuances
📌 Important Points
Target Audience
This pattern is used by speakers who are in a position to make suggestions or mild commands to the listener. This usually means an older person speaking to a younger person, a teacher to a student, a parent to a child, or someone of higher status to someone lower. It is not typically used towards equals or superiors.
Example: 〇 母が子に：「早く宿題をしてごらんなさい。」(Mother to child: “Go ahead and do your homework quickly.”)
✕ 学生が先生に：「この問題を解いてごらん。」(Student to teacher: “Try solving this problem.”)
Difference between ごらん and ごらんなさい
ごらんなさい is slightly more polite or slightly stronger as a suggestion/mild command than ごらん. Both are generally informal, but ごらんなさい adds a touch more emphasis.
Example: 食べてごらん (Tabete goran) – Try it (more casual)
食べてごらんなさい (Tabete gorannasai) – Try it (slightly more direct/emphatic)
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ Using it towards superiors or people older than you.
✅ Use more polite forms like ～てください or different phrasing entirely depending on the context.
てごらん / てごらんなさい implies a hierarchical relationship where the speaker is in a position to advise or instruct the listener. Using it inappropriately can sound rude or arrogant.
❌ Confusing it with ～てみる (te miru)
✅ While both involve “trying”, ～てみる is about the speaker trying something new or seeing if something works. てごらん is about the listener trying something, often on the speaker’s suggestion.
～てみる (te miru) means “to try doing something (for oneself or to see the result)”. てごらん (te goran) is a command/suggestion to the listener to “try doing something (as encouraged by the speaker)”.
🏛️ Cultural Context
Politeness Level: Informal to slightly polite (ごらんなさい is slightly more polite than ごらん, but still not formal).
Social Situations: Used in close relationships (family, close friends), teacher-student (teacher to student), parent-child, or when the speaker is in a clear position of seniority.
Regional Variations: The usage and politeness nuance are generally consistent across Japan, though regional dialects might have equivalent expressions.
🔍 Subtle Differences
～てごらん / ～てごらんなさい vs. ～てください
～てください is a general polite request. ～てごらん / ～てごらんなさい is a suggestion/mild command to try something, usually from a senior to a junior.
When to use: Use ～てください for polite requests to anyone. Use ～てごらん / ～てごらんなさい when encouraging a junior to try something.
～てごらん / ～てごらんなさい vs. ～なさい
～なさい is a more direct command, often used by parents/teachers to children/students. ～てごらん / ～てごらんなさい is softer, focusing on the “try/see” aspect.
When to use: Use ～なさい for clear instructions/commands. Use ～てごらん / ～てごらんなさい when encouraging experimentation or experience.
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📝 Conjugation Notes
Attaches directly to the て-form of a verb.
🔊 Pronunciation Tips
Pronounced with natural intonation; the emphasis is on the verb before ごらん/ごらんなさい.
🧠 Memory Tips
Think of ごらん (goran) coming from 見る (miru – to see) in a humble/respectful context (ご覧になる goninaru – honorific “to see”). てごらん literally means “do X and see/look”. Remember it as encouraging someone to “try and see”.
Practice Exercises
Choose the correct form: 母が妹に「このりんごを（ ）ごらん。」と言いました。
食べる
食べます
食べて
食べ
Choose the correct form: 先生が学生に「分からなければ、（ ）ごらんなさい。」と言いました。
聞く
聞いて
聞き
聞きます
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