schau mich an
/ʃaʊ̯ mɪç an/word by word
To say look at me in German, use schau mich an.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Bavaria you may hear Schau amoi her!, meaning look over here.
How does it change in a sentence?
schau mich an is the informal command to one person. For a group you know, use schaut mich an and in a formal setting use schauen Sie mich an. The verb is separable, so an goes to the end.
How do you pronounce it?
In IPA it is /ʃaʊ̯ mɪç an/. schau sounds like the English word shout without the t, and the ch in mich is a soft hissing sound made with the tongue near the roof of the mouth.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes say schau auf mich, which suggests looking up at or onto someone. Use schau mich an when you mean look at me.
Did you know?
- German differentiates between anschauen (to look at) and ansehen (to look at/examine). While often interchangeable, ansehen is more frequently used when judging the quality or condition of something.
- The verb anschauen can also be used to mean 'to watch' a film or a play, meaning if you tell a friend Schau mich an, you might accidentally sound like you are asking them to watch you as if you were a performance.
- The word mich descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *me, making it a direct ancient relative of the English word 'me'.
Examples in context
- Bitte schau mich an.Please look at me.Bitte at the start turns the command into a polite request.Tatoeba #876440 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #262407 by CK
- Schau nicht auf Tom. Schau mich an.Don't look at Tom. Look at me.The contrast with Schau nicht auf Tom stresses that the speaker wants attention on them instead.Tatoeba #6643114 by Felixjp, translation #1860444 by CK
- Schau mich an, wenn du mit mir redest!Look at me when you're talking to me.Adding wenn du mit mir redest gives the common complaint when someone avoids eye contact while talking.Tatoeba #3766642 by Jens_Odo, translation #3767424 by patgfisher
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maximilian is trying to get Julia's attention while she is reading.
- MaximilianJulia, schau mich an!Julia, look at me!
- JuliaWas ist denn?What is it?
- MaximilianIch möchte mit dir sprechen.I want to speak with you.
- JuliaOkay, ich höre zu.Okay, I am listening.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (Schau, mich, an) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries an, mich, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
