Learn about Spanish verbs Mirar and Ver

Confusion between Spanish verbs Mirar and Ver

It's sometimes difficult to know when to use the verbs mirar and ver in Spanish as they have very similar meanings - generally they correspond with the English verbs to look at and to see/watch, but not all the time. 

Let's have a look at some examples that illustrate different uses of both these verbs.

Learn about Spanish verb mirar 

Mirar generally means "to look at", as in directing your sight towards something. Here are some examples:

Mírame, te estoy hablando.Look at me, I'm talking to you.

No me di cuenta de que habías llegado porque estaba mirando mi móvil.I didn't realised you had arrived because I was looking at my cell phone.

Ese chico me mira mucho..., creo que le gusto.That guy is looking at me a lot..., I think he likes me.

Tienes que mirar a la derecha y a la izquierda antes de cruzar.You need to look right and left before crossing.

In all these examples we are using mirar because we are talking about directing your sight towards something or someone; it is also a voluntary act. 

 

Learn about Spanish verb ver 

Ver generally means "to see", as in visually perceiving something or someone; an involuntary act.

For example:

Ahí está Mónica entre la gente, ¿la ves?There's Monica in the crowd, can you see her?

Tuve que parar porque no veía nada con tanta niebla.I had to stop because I couldn't see anything with so much fog.

Ayer vi a unos niños saltando la valla.Yesterday I saw some kids jumping over the gate.

No lo creeré hasta que lo vea con mis propios ojos.I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes.

 

Extra nuances of ver and mirar

As explained before, these are the general meanings of these two verbs but there are also extra meanings for both of them with an extra nuance. For example, we also use the verb ver when we talk about seeing people, as in meeting up:

El sábado pasado vi a Sara y a Marta para un café y estuvimos charlando un buen rato.Last Saturday I saw (met up with) Sara and Marta for a coffee and we chatted for a while.

Here we are not referring to perceiving them with our eyes but to meeting up with them.

Sometimes we also use ver to convey the idea of understanding something. For example:

Mi profesor me explicó la teoría con detalle pero es que yo no lo veo.My teacher explained the theory to me with details but I just can't see it (understand it).

When we are looking at something and paying a lot of attention to it we can use both mirar and  ver, for example when you are examining some documents, you can say:

Estoy mirando los documentos de nuevo para asegurarme de que están bien redactados.I am looking at/going through the documents again to make sure they are written correctly.

Estoy viendo los documentos de nuevo para asegurarme de que están bien redactados.I am looking at/going through the documents again to make sure they are written correctly.

 

What to use for to watch?

When what we want to express is to watch we generally use ver. Let's see what kind of watching we can talk about.

If you are watching an event (e.g. a match):

No vimos el partido en la tele sino en el estadio.We didn't watch the match on TV but in the stadium.

If you want to say you're watching TV:

Mis hijos ven la tele todo el tiempo.My children watch TV all the time.

Bear in mind that if you are asking for example about a specific movie or episode, you don't always use to watch in English, it could also be to see. Have a look at these examples (in Spanish it's ver in both cases):

¿Has visto la última película de Almodóvar?Have you seen the last movie by Almodóvar?

 

Note that in Latin America you may also hear "mirar la tele" for watching TV, but this is less common in Spain.

If you are watching someone (so you know their movements/surveillance) we don't use ver or mirar, we use the verb vigilar:

Puedes irte tranquila, yo vigilo a los niños.You can go no problem, I'll watch the children.

El policía vigilaba al detenido.The policeman was watching the detainee.

Another use and meaning of the verb mirar is to talk about orientation:

Mi nueva casa mira al sur.My new house faces South.

 

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