Ways to say it
| German | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| schauen | /ˈʃaʊ̯ən/ | |
| sehen | /ˈzeː.ən/ /zeːn/ (Germany) |
|
| blicken | [ˈblɪkŋ̩] (narrow) | |
| hinschauen | ||
| hinsehen | /ˈhɪnˌzeː(ə)n/ | |
| gucken | /ˈkʊkən/ /ˈɡʊkən/ |
colloquial |
| guggen | ||
| kucken | /kʊkən/ | rare |
| ansehen | /ˈʔanˌzeːən/ /ˈanˌseːɛn/ |
|
| luege | Alemannic German |
In German, the word you choose depends on whether you are describing the physiological ability to see, the act of directing your eyes toward something or someone's outward appearance. While schauen and gucken focus on the intentional act of directing your eyes, sehen refers more to the perception of an image or the ability to see. If you want to emphasize the act of directing your gaze toward a specific point or object, use hinschauen.
Which one should you use?
The verbs differ based on intent and perception. sehen often refers to the result of looking or the ability to see, whereas schauen and gucken focus on the action of directing one's eyes. hinschauen is used when emphasizing the act of looking at a specific object or point. The noun Blick is used to describe a single glance or a specific way of looking at someone.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Gucken is a very common colloquial alternative to schauen or sehen in many parts of Germany.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some parts of southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria, people may use luege.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to say someone 'looks' a certain way (such as 'looks tired' or 'looks good'), you must use the separable verb aussehen rather than just using sehen or schauen.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈʃaʊ̯ən/
Did you know?
- The word luege is used for 'look' in Swiss German, but in Standard German, lügen means 'to lie'.
- The German verb schauen is actually a distant relative of the English word 'show'. They both stem from the same ancient root meaning 'to look at' or 'to examine'.
- In colloquial German, the word gucken is often spelled as kucken in some regions, reflecting how people actually pronounce the sound.
Examples in context
- Wie sehen sie aus?How do they look?This sentence uses sehen to ask about someone's appearance.Tatoeba #6641395 by Felixjp, translation #2648817 by CK
- Wie sehen die aus?What do they look like?This sentence uses sehen to ask what something looks like.Tatoeba #6641396 by Felixjp, translation #3737792 by CK
- Sie sehen gut aus.They look good.This sentence uses sehen to describe how someone looks.Tatoeba #6643021 by Felixjp, translation #2243227 by CK
- Bitte schauen Sie sich das an.Please have a look at this.
- Bitte beachten Sie dies.Please pay attention to this.
- Bitte werfen Sie einen Blick darauf.Please take a look at it.
- Bitte sehen Sie sich das an.Please look at this.
- Schau mal!Look!
- Guck mal!Take a look!
- Sieh mal!See!
- Kannst du bitte mal auf mein Auto schauen? Ich habe da ein seltsames Geräusch gehört.Can you please look at my car? I heard a strange noise.
- Schau da drüben, das ist das neue Café!Look over there, that's the new café!
- Sieh dir dieses Gemälde an, es ist wirklich wunderschön.Look at this painting, it's truly beautiful.
- 535 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maximilian and Sarah are looking at a map together.
- MaximilianKannst du bitte hier schauen?Can you please look here?
- SarahWo soll ich schauen, Maximilian?Where should I look, Maximilian?
- MaximilianSchauen Sie mal auf die Karte.Look at the map.
- SarahJetzt sehe ich es endlich.Now I finally see it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “look” translations and entries schauen, sehen, blicken, hinschauen, hinsehen, gucken, kucken, ansehen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries blicken, schauen, sehen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
