見た
mita
The Japanese way to say "watched" is 見た (mita).
見た is the past tense of looking at something or someone with attention. In Japanese, this word covers both the meaning of "watched" (with attention) and "saw" (perceived with eyes). When you use 見た with a specific object, you often use the particle を to mark that object.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the continuous past action "was watching", use the form 見ていた. If you want to say "did not watch", use the negative past tense form 見なかった.
How do you pronounce it?
mita
Did you know?
- Japanese has several different words for 'watching' depending on the intent, such as 観る for a performance or 診る for a medical check, though they are all pronounced as miru.
- In Japanese, the verb 見る is used to describe the act of reading a map or a menu, whereas English distinguishes between 'watching' and 'reading'.
- There is a common Japanese idiom 見る見るうちに which uses the verb for 'watched' twice to describe something happening 'right before one's eyes' or very rapidly.
Examples in context
- トムは昨日テレビを見た。Tom watched TV yesterday.This sentence shows how to use 見た to say someone watched TV.Tatoeba #199931 by nihonjin, translation #37132 by CK
- テレビで古い映画を見た。I watched an old movie on TV.This sentence uses 見た to describe watching an old movie.Tatoeba #202035 by bunbuku, translation #39247 by CK
- 彼女は彼のダンスを見た。She watched him dance.This sentence uses 見た to describe watching a person dance.Tatoeba #1452382 by bunbuku, translation #887575 by CK
- 昨晩、私は映画を見ました。Last night, I watched a movie.
- 彼はテレビドラマを一気に見ました。He watched the TV series in one go.
- 昨日、友達とサッカーの試合を見た。Yesterday, I watched a football game with my friends.
- 私はライブコンサートを見ました。I watched a live concert.
- 彼はドキュメンタリー映画を見た。He watched a documentary film.
- 38 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a movie at a cafe.
- 結衣 Yui昨日、新しい映画を見た？Kinou, atarashii eiga o mita?Did you watch the new movie yesterday?
- 大翔 Hirotoうん、見たよ。すごく面白かった。Un, mita yo. Sugoku omoshirokatta.Yeah, I watched it. It was very interesting.
- 結衣 Yui大翔くんも見たんだね。Hiroto-kun mo mita n da ne.So you watched it too, Hiroto.
- 大翔 Hiroto結衣も絶対見たほうがいいよ。Yui mo zettai mita hou ga ii yo.Yui, you should definitely watch it.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
