To see (Ver) and to look (Mirar) are verbs used to recreate, through language, the sense of sight. They do not have the same meaning, but they are interrelated.
Mirar is something we do with our body and Ver is something that happens in our mind. Between Mirar and Ver there is a link:
1. Ver is what happens when the action of mirar is successful. For example:
- He mirado las montañas – I’ve looked at the mountains.
2. When the action of looking is successful, we see:
- He visto las montañas – I’ve seen the mountains.
3. This explains why we can look and yet not see:
- Yo sabía que estaba allí porque oía perfectamente la sirena. Sin embargo, por más que miraba a lo lejos, no conseguía ver el barco. – I knew it was there because I could hear the siren. However, no matter how far I looked, I could not see the ship.
4. Looking is something that can only be done with physical objects (or objects that are not represented as physical). For example:
- A lo largo de mi vida como galerista, he mirado muchos cuadros. – Throughout my life as a gallery owner, I have looked at many paintings.
5. Instead, it’s strange to say:
- A lo largo de mi vida como galerista, he mirado cambios tremendos en el mercado del arte. – Throughout my life as a gallery owner, I have seen tremendous changes in the art market.
6. We can perfectly well use seeing here because we are referring to the intellectual perception of realities that are not physical:
- A lo largo de mi vida como galerista he visto cambios tremendos en el mercado del arte. – Throughout my life as a gallery owner, I have seen tremendous changes in the art market.
Ver Conjugation
The Verb Ver in its conjugation is an irregular verb, meaning that some of its conjugations do not follow the -er ending conjugation patterns.
Present Tense
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I see | Yo veo |
| You see | Tú ves |
| He, she sees | Él, ella ve |
| We see | Nosotros vemos |
| You see | Usted ve (Formal, singular) |
| You see | Ustedes ven (Formal, plural) |
| They see | Ellos, Ellas ven |
Preterite Tense
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I saw | Yo vi |
| You saw | Tú viste |
| He, she saw | Él, ella vio |
| We saw | Nosotros vimos |
| You saw | Usted vio (Formal, singular) |
| You saw | Ustedes vieron (Formal, plural) |
| They saw | Ellos, Ellas vieron |
Future Tense
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I will see | Yo veré |
| You will see | Tú verás |
| He, she will see | Él, ella verá |
| We will see | Nosotros veremos |
| You will see | Usted verá (Formal, singular) |
| You will see | Ustedes verán (Formal, plural) |
| They will see | Ellos, Ellas verán |
Common Scenarios
These are the most common scenarios in which the verb VER is used in Spanish.
Seeing someone or something
- Ayer pasé por tu casa y vi a tu hermano – Yesterday I passed by your house and saw your brother.
- Mañana iré a ver la casa nueva – Tomorrow I will go to see the new house
To watch tv, movies, & sports
- ¿Quieres ver una película? – Do you want to see a movie?
- Estoy viendo la televisión – I’m watching TV.
Talking about visiting or meeting someone
- Vamos a ver a mi prima, está en la ciudad – Let’s go see my cousin, she’s in town.
- Mis amigos vendrán a verme esta noche – My friends are coming to see me tonight.
Asking for advice on looks
- Este vestido es nuevo; ¿cómo me veo? – This dress is new; how do I look?
- ¿Cómo crees que me vería con el cabello corto? – How do you think I would look with short hair?
Ver “expressions”
There are a large number of popular expressions containing the word VER that are widely used in Spanish, here are some of them:
- Si te he visto, no me acuerdo – If I’ve seen you, I don’t remember. (To express the detachment with which the ungrateful usually pay for the favors they received.)
- Ver para creer – Seeing is believing. (To express that you do not believe in something just by hearing it, just by seeing it.)
- Ya veremos – We will see. (Expressing doubt that something will be realized).
Mirar Conjugation
The verb MIRAR in its conjugation is regular and follows the pattern of verbs with the -ir ending.
Present Tense
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I look | Yo miro |
| You look | Tú miras |
| He, she looks | Él, ella mira |
| We look | Nosotros miramos |
| You look | Usted mira (Formal, singular) |
| You look | Ustedes miran (Formal, plural) |
| Ellos, ellas miran | They look |
Preterite Tense
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I looked | Yo miré |
| You looked | Tú miraste |
| He, she looked | Él, ella miró |
| We looked | Nosotros miramos |
| You looked | Usted miró (Formal, singular) |
| You looked | Ustedes miraron (Formal, plural) |
| They looked | Ellos, ellas miraron |
Future Tense
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I will look | Yo miraré |
| You will look | Tú mirarás |
| He, she will look | Él, ella mirará |
| We will look | Nosotros miraremos |
| You will look | Usted mirará (Formal, singular) |
| You will look | Ustedes mirarán (Formal, plural) |
| They will look | Ellos, Ellas mirarán |
Common Scenarios
We use this verb to basically ask someone to pay attention to someone or something.
To pay attention to someone or something
- Mira hacia arriba, parece que va a llover – Look up, it looks like it’s going to rain.
- Mira cómo lo hago y luego puedes intentarlo – Look how I do it, and then you can try it.
To ask for attention
- Mira esto, ¿qué opinas? – Look at this, what do you think?
- ¡Mira! Parece que se han mudado nuevos vecinos – (Look!) It looks like new neighbors have moved in.
Mirar “expressions”
- Mira lo que haces – Look before you leap. (To warn the person who is about to do something bad or risky, so that he/she reflects on it and avoids it.)
- Mira quién habla – It takes one to know me. (To reproach someone for the same defect that he criticizes in someone else).
- Mirar por encima del hombro – Look down at. (To express someone’s arrogance).
- Mirar algo por encima – Glance at over. (To indicate that something has been seen very quickly and without much attention).
¿Ver o mirar televisión?
The doubt resolves itself if we already know that looking is only possible with physical things, while seeing is something that can happen to us both with the physical and the immaterial.
The word television can refer here to two very different realities: a television set or television content.
When we say “mirar televisión”, we are properly referring to the device. On the other hand, “ver televisión” can refer to the object in the living room or to a movie.
That said, it’s not superfluous to clarify that this is the standard explanation, but that in the use of ver and mirar televisión variation can be found throughout the Hispanic world, as is logical (and even desirable) in a language spoken by 400 million people.
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