Learn German: Guck mal, wer da kommt!

gucken is a very common colloquial word for 'to look' or 'to watch' in northern and central Germany. You will often hear it pronounced as if it were spelled with a 'k' (kucken). In southern Germany and Austria, you are more likely to hear schau mal.

Shouldn't the imperative command form be gucke?

In formal written German, the singular informal command is often formed by adding an -e (like gucke). However, in spoken and everyday German, this -e is almost always dropped, leaving just the short stem guck.

What is the purpose of mal in this sentence?

mal is a flavor particle (modal particle) that softens a command. Without it, Guck! sounds abrupt and demanding ('Look!'). Adding mal makes it friendly and conversational, similar to saying 'Hey, look' or 'Just look' in English.

Why is the verb kommt at the very end of the sentence?

The phrase wer da kommt is an indirect question, which acts as a subordinate clause here. In German, subordinate clauses always send their conjugated verb (kommt) to the end of the phrase.

Does da mean 'there' or 'here' in this context?