見る is frequently used as “to try”, just as “do something and see how it goes” in English, especially in conversation.
- 一度スカイダイビングをやりたい -> I want to do skydiving
- 一度スカイダイビングをやってみたい -> I want to try skydiving
- 私から彼に話す -> I will talk to him
- 私から彼に話してみる -> I will try to talk, persuade, him
- 何事も実際にやらないと分からない -> You won’t know about things unless you actually do
- 何事も実際にやってみないと分からない -> You won’t know about things unless you actually try
- もう少し考えたい -> I want to think about it a little more
- もう少し考えてみたい -> I want to think about it a little more
As you can see 見る is not an absolute necessity, and you can say pretty much the same thing without 見る. Also in some cases you cannot really translate to English using “try”. However, or in some sense because of its subtlety, native Japanese speakers almost always insert 見る, especially in conversation.
見る as “to try” can often act as “will” as well.
- 彼に聞いて見るよ -> I will ask him
- 新しいラーメン屋に一度行って見る -> I will go to the new ramen restaurant
Note that 見る as “will” are only used when the action does NOT involve the listener
- 後で電話するよ (
後で電話してみるよ) -> I will call you later