てごらん details
write + (and…) + go on and do it — a coaxing instruction aimed downward
kaite goran
go on and do it — a coaxing instruction aimed downward
meaning: go on and write
これ、一口食べてごらん。すごくおいしいから。
kore, hitokuchi tabete goran. sugoku oishii kara.
Here, go on and eat a bite of this — it's really good. casual
ちょっとこっち来て、窓の外見てごらん。
chotto kotchi kite, mado no soto mite goran.
Come over here a second and look outside the window. casual
- alternant
- colloquial
Examples
go on and do it — inviting someone below you to try the act and see for themselves
これ、一口食べてごらん。すごくおいしいから。
kore, hitokuchi tabetegoran. sugoku oishii kara.
Here, go on and eat a bite of this — it's really good. casual
ちょっとこっち来て、窓の外見てごらん。
chotto kotchi kite, mado no soto mite goran.
Come over here a second and look outside the window. casual
難しく考えないで、まず自分の言葉で書いてごらん。
muzukashiku kangaenaide, mazu jibun no kotoba de kaite goran.
Don't overthink it — just write it in your own words first. neutral
本当かどうか、一度自分の目で確かめてごらんなさい。
hontou ka dou ka, ichido jibun no me de tashikamete goran nasai.
Go and check with your own eyes whether it's true. neutral
Formation
{V-te}ごらんattaches to て-form
Variant notes
- てごらんなさい — the unclipped form — a teacher or a parent giving the instruction properly, a shade sterner and further from the listener than bare ごらん.
- てごらんよ — よ pushes the coaxing further, for talking someone into it — 一口だけ食べてごらんよ。
Notes
out, so 見てごらん is normal despite the doubling. It goes downward or to
intimates only — aimed upward it condescends, however gently it is said.
Related patterns
Similar
てみる runs through every form and every person (食べてみた, 食べてみます); てごらん is frozen as a command aimed at one listener below you, so it takes no tense, no politeness and no first-person subject at all.
なさい orders the act itself and expects it done; てごらん offers it as something worth trying and leaves the listener room to find out — which is why a parent uses なさい for homework and てごらん for a new food.
Lookalikes
The same ごらん points opposite ways — ご覧ください raises the listener's own looking and belongs at a counter or in an announcement, while 〜てごらん talks down to a child or a junior; aimed at a customer it insults rather than serves.