Learn Hardcore Japanese: atarasii kutusita wo sityakusite mite mo ii desu ka?

In Japanese, を marks the direct object of a transitive verb. Here, “靴下” (socks) is the thing you’re trying on, so you say 靴下を試着する (“to try on socks”). Without を, the sentence would lack a clear object.

What does 試着して mean, and why is it in the て-form?

試着する means “to try on (clothes).”
試着して is its て-form. The て-form has two main functions here:
1. It links 試着する to the next action or auxiliary verb (in this case, みる).
2. It makes the phrase more conversational and polite when combined with other verbs.

Why do we have both 試着して and みて? Isn’t one verb enough?

Japanese often uses the structure V-て + みる to express “to try doing V to see what happens or how it feels.”

試着する = “to try on” (basic action)
試着してみる = “to try on (to see how it looks/feels)” (the nuance of testing or experimenting)

In this sentence, 試着してみて is the て-form chain, ready for the permission phrase that follows.

What does ～てもいいですか mean, and why do we include も?

～てもいいですか is the standard way to ask “May I ～?” or “Is it okay if I ～?”
The も comes from the conditional ても form of the verb. Literally, 試着してもいいですか？ breaks down as:
- 試着して (try on in て-form)
- も (“even if”)
- いいですか (“is it good/acceptable?”)

Together it means “Is it all right if I try it on?”

Why do we need both です and か at the end?

です is the polite copula, making the sentence courteous.
か is the question marker, turning a statement into a question.
Putting them together (いいですか？) yields a polite question: “Is it OK?”

Can I drop てみる and just say 試着していいですか？ What’s the difference?

Yes, 試着していいですか？ is also correct and means “May I try it on?”
The difference is subtle:

試着していいですか？ simply asks for permission to do the action.
試着してみてもいいですか？ adds the nuance of wanting to “experiment” or “test” it out, perhaps to see the fit or style.

Why is the subject (like “I”) omitted in the Japanese sentence?

Japanese often omits subjects when they’re obvious from context. Here, it’s clear the speaker is asking for permission themselves (“May I…”), so there’s no need to say 私は (“I” as the topic).

Why is 新しい placed before 靴下, when in English we say “new socks” too? Are adjective orders the same?

Yes—the order is the same in English and Japanese for simple adjectives:

English: “new socks”
Japanese: 新しい靴下
The adjective 新しい directly precedes the noun 靴下, just as in English.

Is there any nuance to using 試着 (noun+する) instead of just saying 着る (“to wear”)?

Absolutely.

着る means “to put on/wear” in general.
試着する specifically means “to try on” (to see if the clothes fit/look good).
So 試着してみてもいいですか？ makes it clear you only want to test them, not buy or wear them outside the store.