Commonly confused

Ver vs Mirar: see vs look in Spanish

Ver and mirar mirror the English see/look distinction — almost perfectly. Ver is passive: you see something without necessarily intending to. Mirar is active: you direct your gaze at something on purpose. The same distinction applies to their close cousins escuchar and oír.

Key distinction

Ver = seeing passively or watching; mirar = looking at something deliberately.

Present tense — side by side

ver to see
yo veo
tú ves
él/ella ve
nosotros vemos
vosotros veis
ellos/ellas ven
Full conjugation table →
mirar to look at / to watch
yo miro
tú miras
él/ella mira
nosotros miramos
vosotros miráis
ellos/ellas miran
Full conjugation table →

When to use ver

Seeing something without actively looking

  • Vi un accidente en la calle. I saw an accident in the street.
  • ¿Ves esa nube? Do you see that cloud?

Watching TV, films, or performances

  • Veo la tele todas las noches. I watch TV every night.
  • ¿Has visto esa película? Have you seen that film?

Understanding or perceiving (figurative)

  • Ya veo lo que quieres decir. I see what you mean.
  • No veo por qué no. I don't see why not.

When to use mirar

Looking at something deliberately

  • Mira esa foto. Look at that photo.
  • Miraba el cielo en silencio. She gazed at the sky in silence.

Window shopping, browsing, or inspecting

  • Solo estoy mirando. I'm just looking (in a shop).
  • El médico miró la herida. The doctor looked at the wound.

Common mistakes to avoid

✗ Miro la televisión. ✓ Veo la televisión.

Watching TV is described with ver in Spanish, not mirar — even though you're looking at it.

✗ ¡Ve la pizarra! ✓ ¡Mira la pizarra!

The teacher telling students to look at the board is a deliberate action — use mirar.

Memory trick

Mirar contains "mirror" — you're consciously directing your gaze like looking in a mirror. Ver is passive, like English "see" — things enter your field of vision.

The sports match test

Ver un partido = to watch a match (as a spectator). Mirar el marcador = to look at the scoreboard (a deliberate action). You watch (ver) the whole game; you look (mirar) at specific things during it.

¡Mira! as an exclamation

¡Mira! is used constantly in spoken Spanish as a filler or way to draw attention — similar to "look" in English: Mira, no es tan difícil (Look, it's not that hard). ¡Ver! is not used this way.

A ver

The phrase a ver is extremely common and means "let's see" or "let me see": A ver, ¿qué tenemos aquí? (Let's see, what do we have here?) It always uses ver.

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