miré
/miɾe/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for "I looked" is miré.
The phrase is used to describe the act of looking at something or someone with your eyes in the past.
Which one should you use?
You should use miré to describe a single, completed action that happened at a specific moment, such as "I looked once." In contrast, the form miraba is used to describe an ongoing or habitual action in the past, such as "I was looking" or "I used to look."
How does it change in a sentence?
miré is the first-person singular preterite indicative of the verb mirar. While miré refers to a completed action, the imperfect form miraba is used for background descriptions or continuous actions in the past.
How do you pronounce it?
/miɾe/
Did you know?
- The word mirar is a cognate of the English word 'mirror', as both derive from the Latin mirari, meaning 'to wonder at'.
- If you want to say 'I looked at him' with a sense of suspicion or scrutiny, you might use lo fulminé con la mirada, which literally translates to 'I struck him with a look'.
- The word mirar is used in the phrase ¡mira!, which serves as a versatile discourse marker to get someone's attention or to introduce a counter-argument, similar to saying 'look' or 'listen'.
Examples in context
- Miré en el armario.I looked in the cupboard.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of miré when looking inside a space.Tatoeba #993980 by Shishir, translation #239944 by CK
- Le miré a los ojos.I looked him in the eyes.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of miré when making eye contact.Tatoeba #1384452 by Shishir, translation #260760 by CK
- Miré por la ventana.I looked out the window.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of miré when looking through an opening.Tatoeba #1298231 by marcelostockle, translation #259183 by CK
- Busqué mi libro pero no lo encontréI looked for my book, but I couldn't find it
- Miré detenidamente las fotografíasI looked closely at the photographs
- Anduve buscando a Juan por todas partesI was looking for Juan everywhere
- Le eché un vistazo al informe antes de la reuniónI took a look at the report before the meeting
- Busqué mi teléfono, pero no lo encontré en ninguna parte.I looked for my phone, but I couldn't find it anywhere.
- Estuve buscando información sobre ese tema en Internet toda la tarde.I was looking for information about that topic on the internet all afternoon.
- Miré a través de la ventana y vi un hermoso paisaje.I looked through the window and saw a beautiful landscape.
- Busqué en la biblioteca, pero el libro que necesitaba no estaba.I looked in the library, but the book I needed wasn't there.
- Anduve buscando mi llave por todas partes y al final estaba en mi bolsillo.I was looking for my key everywhere, and in the end, it was in my pocket.
- Le eché un vistazo al menú antes de tomar una decisión.I took a look at the menu before making a decision.
- 34 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Mateo are talking about a painting in a gallery.
- ElenaMiré este cuadro por diez minutos.I looked at this painting for ten minutes.
- Mateo¿Te gustó el estilo del artista?Did you like the artist's style?
- ElenaSí, me pareció muy interesante.Yes, I found it very interesting.
- MateoYo también creo que es increíble.I also think it is incredible.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
