To test appliance before buying


First, I would like to let you know that I'm aware of a few topics already
made regarding "try" here:

• [Saying "try" in
Japanese](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/29928/saying-try-in-
japanese)

• [Different ways to
"try"](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/28942/different-ways-to-
try)

But after reading those topics, I still feel unsure, therefore I write this
question...

This is about when you go to Japanese Electronic Store or something similar,
and you want to buy the appliance (in this case a hair straightener). Before
you pick the item and go home, you want to make sure that it functions well...
So we'd like to say "Can I test it?" (to see if it's not broken)

I come up with a few sentences... But I'm unsure if these are correct...

>   1. ためしてください (I want to test it)
>
>   2. ためしてみたい、いいですか？ (I want to try testing it, is it okay?)
>
>   3. 使ってみたい、いいですか？(I want to try using it, is it okay?)
>
>

It's written in dictionary that ためして is to test, but I read in some comments
that ためして is very rarely used in common daily life. And when it's used, it's
being used for something serious like to test a new government law or
something... Is this right?

Could you help to explain what is the best sentence to use in daily life for
this situation? Thank you so much in advance :)




Well, to be honest, I never thought of testing an electronic device to see if
it works or not before buying it in Japan unless it's secondhand or has known
compatibility issues, and I don't know if every salesclerk is ready for it,
but...

The best way to ask for it is:

> 動くかどうか試してみていいですか？ _Is it okay to test if it works?_  
>  動くか（どうか）確かめてみていいですか？ _Is it okay to confirm if it works?_

or, if you want them to test:

> 動くかどうか試してもらえますか？ _Can you test if it works?_  
>  動くか（どうか）確かめて（みて）もらえますか？ _Can you confirm if it works?_

Your

  1. ためしてください  
isn't "I want to test it", but "Please test it".

  2. ためしてみたい、いいですか？  
and...

  3. 使ってみたい、いいですか？  
are good in word choice, but grammatically sound a bit doge speak ("want test
okay?"). You can say ためしてみたいのですがいいですか？ or 使ってみたいのですがいいですか？ to combine them.
Note that 使う often implies you apply it to real use case, that is, if it's a
hair straightener, you test it with your hair.

> _...I read in some comments that ためして is very rarely used in common daily
> life. And when it's used, it's being used for something serious like to test
> a new government law or something... Is this right?_

It depends. If the word means "test somebody's ability", it sounds quite
bookish, but used in "try using something" or "try out something", it is a
daily language (and common around me).




Well, to be honest, I never thought of testing an electronic device to see if
it works or not before buying it in Japan unless it's secondhand or has known
compatibility issues, and I don't know if every salesclerk is ready for it,
but...

The best way to ask for it is:

> 動くかどうか試してみていいですか？ _Is it okay to test if it works?_  
>  動くか（どうか）確かめてみていいですか？ _Is it okay to confirm if it works?_

or, if you want them to test:

> 動くかどうか試してもらえますか？ _Can you test if it works?_  
>  動くか（どうか）確かめて（みて）もらえますか？ _Can you confirm if it works?_

Your

  1. ためしてください  
isn't "I want to test it", but "Please test it".

  2. ためしてみたい、いいですか？  
and...

  3. 使ってみたい、いいですか？  
are good in word choice, but grammatically sound a bit doge speak ("want test
okay?"). You can say ためしてみたいのですがいいですか？ or 使ってみたいのですがいいですか？ to combine them.
Note that 使う often implies you apply it to real use case, that is, if it's a
hair straightener, you test it with your hair.

> _...I read in some comments that ためして is very rarely used in common daily
> life. And when it's used, it's being used for something serious like to test
> a new government law or something... Is this right?_

It depends. If the word means "test somebody's ability", it sounds quite
bookish, but used in "try using something" or "try out something", it is a
daily language (and common around me).

