見る vs 観る
JLPT N5 vocabulary · what is the difference?
見る and 観る are the same word, みる — only the kanji differs. 見る is the default for seeing or looking at anything, while 観る is an optional spelling used when you are watching something you chose and are giving your attention to, such as a film, a play or a match. Writing 見る everywhere is still correct.
When to use each
見る
みる
The default spelling for anything your eyes do: noticing, looking at, checking, and watching too. If you are unsure, 見る is safe — it is never wrong, and it is the spelling used in textbooks and newspapers.
毎晩テレビでニュースを見ます。
まいばんテレビでニュースをみます。
I watch the news on TV every evening.
この漢字をよく見てください。
このかんじをよくみてください。
Please look carefully at this kanji.
観る
Chosen when the watching is deliberate and the thing is something put on to be watched — a film, a play, a match, a concert. 観 carries the sense of viewing and observing, as in 観察 and 観光. It is a writer's choice, not a grammar rule.
週末に映画館で映画を観ました。
しゅうまつにえいがかんでえいがをみました。
I watched a film at the cinema at the weekend.
日曜日にサッカーの試合を観に行きます。
にちようびにサッカーのしあいをみにいきます。
I'm going to watch a football match on Sunday.
Sentences where only one works
空を見てください。星がきれいです。
そらをみてください。ほしがきれいです。
Look at the sky. The stars are beautiful.
Nothing was staged for you and nothing was chosen — this is plain looking, so 観る would read as a mistake.
道で友だちの顔を見ました。
みちでともだちのかおをみました。
I saw my friend's face in the street.
Seeing something by chance is always 見る; 観る is never used for noticing.
昨日、歌舞伎を観ました。
きのう、かぶきをみました。
I watched kabuki yesterday.
A performance you bought a ticket for and sat through — the classic place for 観る, though 見ました here is equally correct.
説明書をよく見て組み立てます。
せつめいしょをよくみてくみたてます。
I read the instructions carefully and assemble it.
Careful, attentive looking is not enough for 観る: it wants a performance or an event, not a document.
Common mistakes
きれいな空を観ました。
きれいな空を見ました。
Learners take 観る to mean "look at properly" and use it for scenery. 観る needs something presented to an audience; for the sky it sounds as if the sky were a show you attended.
食べて観る
食べてみる
The auxiliary ～てみる ("try doing") is written in kana, never with 見 or 観. It has nothing to do with watching.
目が悪いので、よく観ることができません。
目が悪いので、よく見ることができません。
Being able to see at all is 見る / 見える. 観る never covers eyesight.
Frequently asked questions
Is 観る a different word from 見る?
No. Both are read みる and they are the same verb, conjugated the same way. The writer just picks a kanji that suits what the verb is doing in that sentence.
Do I have to write 映画を観る?
No. 観 is not among the everyday jōyō readings the way 見 is, so newspapers, textbooks and plenty of ordinary writers use 見る for films too. 映画を見る is completely normal Japanese.
Which one do I need for the JLPT?
見る. It is the N5 word you have to read and write; 観る appears in the wild but you are never required to produce it.