てごらん

てごらん means try doing; please look. It is a JLPT N3 grammar pattern used to gently tell someone to try an action, often toward children or close people.

This grammar point often appears in casual Japanese. If you want to gently tell someone to try an action, often toward children or close people, てごらん is a useful pattern to learn.

What does てごらん mean?

Use てごらん when you want to gently tell someone to try an action, often toward children or close people.

Natural translations include:

• try doing; please look
• try doing
• try doing / please look

How to form てごらん

Verbて-form + ごらん

Examples of the pattern:

• 食べてごらん
• 見てごらん
• 言ってごらん

When is てごらん used?

Use てごらん in situations like:

• explaining grammar in context
• answering JLPT reading questions
• making natural Japanese sentences

Tone and register:

• casual
• Common in JLPT reading, grammar questions, and natural Japanese sentences

てごらん example sentences

• このケーキを食べてごらん。 — Try eating this cake.
• 空を見てごらん。星がきれいだよ。 — Look at the sky. The stars are beautiful.
• もう一度言ってごらん。 — Try saying it one more time.
• 分からなければ、先生に聞いてごらん。 — If you do not understand, try asking the teacher.
• この漢字を書いてごらん。 — Try writing this kanji.

Nuance of てごらん

The key nuance is soft instruction or encouragement.

This matters because てごらん does more than match a single English phrase. It shows how the speaker frames the condition, timing, example, role, intention, or contrast in the sentence.

For example:

• In context, it sounds natural when the surrounding sentence supports the nuance.
• Compared with てみて, it has a different focus and level of formality.

てごらん vs てみて

Both てごらん and てみて can appear in related situations, but they are different.

てごらん:

• means try doing; please look
• fits the specific N3 pattern and nuance explained above

てみて:

• てみて is a neutral “try”; てごらん sounds softer, guiding, and often used by someone senior

Quick contrast examples:

• Target: このケーキを食べてごらん。 — Try eating this cake.
• Compare: Try replacing it with てみて and check whether the nuance still matches.

Common mistakes with てごらん

Watch out for these mistakes:

• Using てごらん with the wrong form
• Confusing てごらん with てみて
• Translating it too literally instead of reading the whole sentence

Is てごらん on the JLPT?

Yes. てごらん is commonly taught as JLPT N3 grammar.

That means learners should be able to:

• recognize it in reading
• understand its nuance in context
• use it in simple original sentences

Practice questions for てごらん

Try making your own sentences with these prompts:

• Write one sentence using てごらん.
• Contrast てごらん with てみて.
• Make a JLPT-style sentence where the context makes the meaning clear.

Learning path for てごらん

To learn てごらん efficiently, review the formation first, then compare it with the closest existing grammar point before writing your own sentence.

1. First, make sure you can form てごらん without looking at the pattern chart.
2. Next, compare it with てばかりいる, てはじめて. These patterns are close enough that choosing between them helps you understand the nuance.
3. Finally, write sentences where the grammar point’s nuance is necessary; then check whether replacing てごらん with てからでないと changes the meaning.

Related grammar to review next

• てばかりいる — because it appears in the same grammar family.
• てはじめて — because it appears in the same grammar family.
• てからでないと — because it appears in the same grammar family.
• てしょうがない・てしかたがない — because it appears in the same grammar family.

Learn てごらん with Hane

If you want to review てごらん together with the related patterns above, Hane helps you connect grammar, kanji, and vocabulary in short, focused sessions.

Browse more lessons here:

• All grammar lessons
• JLPT N3 grammar lessons