てごらん

てごらん gently tells someone to try something: the て-form of a verb plus ごらん. It is said from above – a parent to a child, a teacher to a pupil – and it comes with encouragement.

てごらん or てみて

てみて, from てみる, is the neutral "try it" and works between friends. てごらん has the guiding tone built in, so it never goes up to a superior. To someone above you, use てみてください, or an honorific verb.

• × 先生、食べてごらん → 先生、召し上がってみてください

Usage notes

These go beyond plain てごらん.

てごらんなさい

ごらん is short for ごらんなさい. The full form sounds more like an instruction, from a teacher or a parent.

ご覧 on its own

The word is ごらんご覧, the honorific for looking, as in ごらんになるご覧になる and ごらんご覧ください, "please look". After a て-form it keeps none of that respect. On its own, ごらん is a gentle "look!".