gucken
to look
A colloquial expression for 'schauen' (to look) or 'sehen' (to see); to consciously direct your eyes toward something in order to perceive it.
EXAMPLE
Guck mal, da fliegt ein seltener Vogel!
Look, there’s a rare bird flying!
gucken
to look / watch
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
gucken
to watch
Colloquial for watching a performance, especially a film, TV show, or play.
EXAMPLE
Wollen wir heute Abend einen Film gucken?
Do we want to watch a movie tonight?
gucken
to look
Colloquial for making a particular facial expression.
EXAMPLE
Warum guckst du so traurig?
Why do you look so sad?
mal gucken
we’ll see
A colloquial expression that conveys a wait-and-see attitude and means that you have to check something or wait before making a decision.
EXAMPLE
Ob ich zur Party komme, weiß ich noch nicht, mal gucken.
I don’t know yet whether I’m coming to the party—we’ll see.
Usage tips
Register: colloquial speech
'Gucken' (to look/watch) is a colloquial word. In formal situations, emails, or official texts, you should use 'schauen' (to look) or 'sehen' (to see) instead.
EXAMPLE
Kannst du mal gucken, ob die Post schon da ist?
Can you check whether the mail is here yet?
Regional use
The verb 'gucken' (to look/watch) is especially common in northern and central Germany. In southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, 'schauen' (to look) is used more often, even in colloquial speech.
EXAMPLE
In Berlin hört man oft: „Kiek ma!“ (Guck mal!).
In Berlin, you often hear: 'Kiek ma!' ('Guck mal!' = Look!).
Typical collocations
When it comes to media consumption, 'gucken' (to watch) is often connected directly with the medium. Typical expressions are 'Fernsehen gucken' (to watch TV), 'einen Film gucken' (to watch a movie), or 'eine Serie gucken' (to watch a series).
EXAMPLE
Lass uns am Wochenende alle Folgen der neuen Serie gucken.
Let’s watch all the episodes of the new series this weekend.
Describing facial expressions
To describe a facial expression, 'gucken' (to look) is combined with an adjective or adverb. Common examples are 'traurig gucken' (to look sad), 'böse gucken' (to look angry), or 'überrascht gucken' (to look surprised).
EXAMPLE
Guck nicht so skeptisch, es wird schon alles gut gehen!
Don’t look so skeptical; everything will be fine!
Fixed expression
The expression 'mal gucken' (we’ll see) is often used as a stand-alone answer to express that you haven’t decided yet or want to wait and see how the situation develops. It signals non-commitment.
EXAMPLE
„Kommst du morgen mit ins Kino?“ – „Ich weiß noch nicht, mal gucken.“
'Are you coming to the movies tomorrow?' – 'I don’t know yet, we’ll see.'
Compare with
gucken vs sehen
to see
Sehen and gucken can both refer to watching a film. Sehen is neutral in everyday and standard language, while gucken sounds colloquial. Gucken is suitable in a casual conversation; in a more formal announcement, sehen is more likely.
gucken
Im Gruppenchat schreibt Ben, dass die Klasse morgen einen Film gucken wird.
In the group chat, Ben writes that the class will watch a film tomorrow.
sehen
Die Lehrerin kündigt an, dass die Klasse morgen einen Film sehen wird.
The teacher announces that the class will watch a film tomorrow.
In real life
Loading video examples...