～てごらん
Encourage someone to try doing something
You’ll be able to recognize a familiar request or encouragement to try an action and see what happens.
甘くて美味しいから、一口食べてごらん。
amakute oishii kara, hitokuchi tabete goran.
What do you think this sentence means?
It's sweet and delicious, so try taking a bite.
Gently encourage someone to try an action
～てごらん (short for ～てごらんなさい) is a gentle, familiar directive used by elders or parents to encourage someone to try an action and see how it goes ("try doing...", "give it a try").
窓の外を見てごらん。虹が出ているよ。
mado no soto o mite goran. niji ga dete iru yo.
Look out of the window. There's a rainbow.
この歌、とてもいいから、聞いてごらん。
kono uta, totemo ii kara, kiite goran.
This song is really good, so give it a listen.
Attach ごらん to the te-form
Attach ごらん (or the slightly firmer ごらんなさい) directly to the te-form of a verb. It functions like a friendly, encouraging version of ～てみて.
分からない言葉があれば、自分で辞書を引いてごらん。
wakaranai kotoba ga areba, jibun de jisho o hiite goran.
If there are words you don't understand, try looking them up in the dictionary yourself.
～てみて vs ～てごらん
Both mean “try doing it”. ～てみて can be said to anyone you speak casually with. ～てごらん sounds gentle and warm, but it is only used by adults to children or by seniors to juniors.
～てみて, try (neutral)
このケーキ、食べてみて。
kono keeki, tabete mite.
Try this cake.
Fine between friends.
～てごらん, try (to a child)
このケーキ、食べてごらん。
kono keeki, tabete goran.
Try this cake, dear.
A parent or grandparent to a child.
先生「分からなかったら、もう一度問題をゆっくり読んでごらん。」
sensei “wakaranakattara, mou ichido mondai o yukkuri yonde goran.”
Teacher: “If you don’t understand, try reading the question again slowly.”
母「この貝、耳に当ててごらん。海の音が聞こえるよ。」
haha “kono kai, mimi ni atete goran. umi no oto ga kikoeru yo.”
Mom: “Try holding this shell to your ear. You can hear the sea.”
祖父「この花、においをかいでごらん。いいにおいだろう。」
sofu “kono hana, nioi o kaide goran. ii nioi darou.”
Grandpa: “Try smelling this flower. It smells nice, doesn’t it?”
7 more examples in the grammar path — free for a limited time.