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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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):
If you want to say you're watching TV:
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):
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:
Another use and meaning of the verb mirar is to talk about orientation:
Lessons with more detail on (Learn about Spanish verbs Mirar and Ver)
- Spanish perception verbs: Most verbs of perception usually use the present, not the modal poder
- Conjugate ver in the imperfect tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Imperfecto)
- Conjugate ver in the present perfect tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Perfecto)
- Conjugate ver in the present tense in Spanish (El Presente)
- Conjugate ver in the preterite tense in Spanish ( El Pretérito Indefinido)
- How to say I can't wait/I can't wait to do something in Spanish with no ver la hora
- Using the imperative of mirar/oír with specific meanings -irony, attention, supposition
- Verbs ver, oír, escuchar + infinitive/gerund
- Verbs ver, oír, escuchar, oler, sentir, encontrar in the imperfect
