How to Say "Look at Me" in Japanese

私を見て

watashi o mite

To say "look at me" in Japanese, you use 私を見て (watashi o mite).

This phrase is used as a request or a command to have someone direct their eyes toward the speaker.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

私を見て is a straightforward and informal way to say "Look at me". For a polite and formal way to capture someone's attention, you can use こちらを見てください.

Adding ください (kudasai) to the te-form, as in 私を見てください, makes the request polite and appropriate for most social situations.

watashi o mite

When using こちらを見てください, the word こちら literally means 'this direction' rather than 'me'. It is considered more humble to ask someone to look toward your direction than to look at your person.
In Japanese, the word for 'me', 私, is often replaced by the speaker's own name or nickname in casual conversation, especially by women or children.
In many Japanese social contexts, staring directly into someone's eyes while speaking is considered aggressive or rude. Using 見て to demand eye contact can feel significantly more intense than the English 'look at me'.

私を見てください。
Please look at me.
This sentence is useful for practicing a polite request using 私を見て.
Tatoeba #152144 by bunbuku, translation #262407 by CK
私が話しているときは私を見て！
Look at me when I talk to you!
This sentence demonstrates a command to look at the speaker while talking using 私を見て.
Tatoeba #5100 by bunbuku, translation #1698 by CE
私を見て、私がするようにしなさい。
Look at me and do what I do.
This sentence shows how to use 私を見て when giving instructions to follow an action.
Tatoeba #9177039 by small_snow, translation #2008167 by AlanF_US
2 more sentences on Tatoeba

A young woman is trying to get her boyfriend's attention during a conversation.

美咲 Misaki

私を見て、大翔。
Watashi o mite, Hiroto.
Look at me, Hiroto.
大翔 Hiroto

ごめん、聞いてるよ。
Gomen, kiiteru yo.
Sorry, I am listening.
美咲 Misaki

顔を見て話してほしいな。
Kao o mite hanashite hoshii na.
I want you to look at my face when we talk.
大翔 Hiroto

わかった、ごめんね。
Wakatta, gomen ne.
Okay, sorry.

Sources

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