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Learn Hardcore Japanese: kasi wo mite. - Look at the lyrics.

Hardcore Japanese
/Singing karaoke with friends
/kashi o mite.

kashi o mite.

Word

歌詞かし　を　見みて。kashi o mite.

Meaning

Look at the lyrics.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Japanese

Lesson

Singing karaoke with friends

Breakdown of kashi o mite.

direct object particle

歌詞かしkashi

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Questions & Answers about kashi o mite.

How do you read 歌詞?

歌詞 is read かし.

歌 = song
詞 = words/lyrics

So 歌詞 means song lyrics.

What does を do in this sentence?

を marks the direct object of the verb. It shows what is being looked at.

In 歌詞を見て, the thing being looked at is 歌詞.

So structurally, it is:

歌詞 = the lyrics
を = object marker
見て = look / look at

Why is the verb 見て instead of 見る?

見て is the て-form of 見る.

The て-form has many uses, and one very common use is to make a casual request or instruction. So 見て can sound like:

Look
Look at it
Take a look

By contrast:

見る is the plain dictionary form: to look / to see
見て is the form used here to tell someone to do it

Nihon-shiki romanizationwatasi ha tyuugoku kara kimasita

Hepburn romanizationwatashi wa chuugoku kara kimashita

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Is 見て a command?

Yes, in this context it works like a casual request or instruction.

It is usually softer than a very blunt command form, but it is still casual and direct. The tone depends a lot on context and voice.

Compare:

見て。 = Look. / Take a look.
見てください。 = Please look.
見ろ。 = Look! / Watch! very strong, rough, or masculine-sounding command

So 歌詞を見て。 is natural in casual speech when telling someone to look at the lyrics.

Is this sentence polite?

No, it is casual.

歌詞を見て。 is something you might say to:

a friend
a family member
someone younger
someone you are speaking casually with

If you want to be polite, you would usually say:

歌詞を見てください。

That is a more standard polite request.

Why is there no subject, like you?

Japanese often leaves out subjects and other information when they are obvious from context.

In English, you often need to say you, but in Japanese it is very common not to. Here, the person being spoken to is understood, so there is no need to say it.

That is completely normal Japanese.

Why use 見る for lyrics? Wouldn’t 読む also make sense?

Yes, 読む can also make sense, depending on the nuance.

歌詞を見て focuses on looking at the lyrics, for example on a screen, paper, or phone
歌詞を読んで focuses more on reading the words

In many real situations, especially with displayed text like karaoke lyrics, 見る sounds very natural because the speaker is simply telling someone to look at what is shown.

So 見る and 読む are both possible, but they are not exactly the same in nuance.

Are the spaces normal in 歌詞　を　見て。?

No. Normal Japanese writing does not usually use spaces between words.

It would normally be written as:

歌詞を見て。

Spaces are often added in teaching materials to make the parts easier for learners to see.

Can the を be omitted?

In very casual speech, Japanese sometimes drops particles, so you may hear:

歌詞見て。

That can sound natural in conversation. However, for learners, it is better to first get used to the full form:

歌詞を見て。

Using the particle makes the structure clearer and more standard.

Is 歌詞 singular or plural here?

Japanese nouns usually do not mark singular vs. plural the way English does.

So 歌詞 can mean:

the lyrics
lyric lines
song words

The exact interpretation depends on context. In practice, 歌詞 is commonly understood as the lyrics.

Could this sentence be incomplete?

Grammatically, it can stand on its own as a complete casual instruction.

However, the て-form is also used to connect actions, so out of context a learner might wonder if something is missing. For example:

歌詞を見て、歌って。 = Look at the lyrics and sing.

But with a pause or period, 歌詞を見て。 is perfectly natural by itself as a request: Look at the lyrics.

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