to drop by / look in
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to drop by
Colloquial for visiting someone briefly and informally or stopping by a place for a short time.
Ich schaue später noch kurz bei dir rein, um das Buch abzuholen.
I'll drop by your place briefly later to pick up the book.
to look inside
To direct your gaze into something in order to see what is inside it.
Kannst du mal in den Topf reinschauen, ob die Suppe schon kocht?
Can you look inside the pot to see whether the soup is already boiling?
to watch briefly
Colloquial for watching a TV show, film, or video.
In die neue Serie habe ich gestern Abend mal kurz reingeschaut.
I watched a bit of the new series yesterday evening.
'Reinschauen' (to drop by / look in) is a separable verb. The prefix 'rein' comes at the end in main clauses. In subordinate clauses and in the infinitive with 'zu', the verb stays together.
Schau doch mal kurz bei mir rein!
Do drop by my place for a moment!
'Reinschauen' (to drop by / look in) is the colloquial short form of 'hereinschauen'. It is mainly used in spoken, informal language.
Wenn du Zeit hast, schau doch mal auf einen Kaffee rein.
If you have time, drop by for a coffee.
The preposition in the sentence helps you recognize the meaning. 'Bei jemandem reinschauen' means to visit someone, while 'in etwas reinschauen' means to look into something or watch something.
Ich schaue später bei meinen Großeltern rein.
I'll drop by my grandparents' place later.
When 'reinschauen' (to drop by) means a short visit, the person you are visiting usually appears with the preposition 'bei' plus the dative.
Sollen wir auf dem Rückweg noch bei Anna reinschauen?
Should we drop by Anna's place on the way back?
to look at / to watch
„Ansehen“ and „reinschauen“ can both refer to watching a film or video. „Ansehen“ presents watching as the actual activity, while „reinschauen“ is colloquial and usually means watching briefly or occasionally. Use „ansehen“ for watching the whole thing or watching it as planned, and „reinschauen“ for taking a quick look.
Ich schaue später kurz in den neuen Film rein.
I'll watch a bit of the new film later.
Heute Abend sehen wir uns den neuen Film gemeinsam an.
Tonight we're watching the new film together.
