Question
Updated on
29 January
- Spanish (Mexico)
-
English (US)
-
German
Question about English (US)
What is the difference between looking for and searching for ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between looking for and searching for ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
Answers
When you "disagree" with an answer
The owner of it will not be notified.
Only the user who asked this question will see who disagreed with this answer.
Read more comments
- English (US)
Iām many cases, they mean the same thing.
Iām looking for my pen.
Iām searching for my pen.
But ālooking forā is a little more casual and much more common.
Highly-rated answerer
- English (US)
"Searching" means you have put in/are putting in a lot of effort. "Looking for" is less intense.
Highly-rated answerer
- Spanish (Mexico)
- Spanish (Mexico)
- English (US)
In some uses, they are the same.
āSearchingā can imply a more involved process than just ālooking.ā Maybe there is more of a struggle with searching.
If youāre looking for a new dress - that says to me that you might be at the store trying to find a dress.
If youāre searching for a new dress - that suggests to me that youāve been trying for a while in maybe several stores.
Searching:
Iāve been searching for that my whole life.
Iāve been searching and searching for an answer, but I canāt figure it out.
Looking:
In a store:
Iām just looking. (But not āsearchingā)
An expression in English is ālooking into it.ā Which means trying to find more information.
Do you know what happened?
No, but Iām looking into it.
Weāre gonna go look around.
They were looking around for a place to eat.
Highly-rated answerer
- Spanish (Mexico)
@cudzoo omg thank you so much; you really take time to explain it. Thanks for showing me examples too :,) now I understood!! šš«¶
[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!
Do you know how to improve your language skillsā All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free āļøāØ.
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free āļøāØ.
Sign up
Recommended Questions
- What is the difference between man and men ?
- What is the difference between I'm down for it and I'm up for it ?
- What is the difference between Okay and Okey ?
- What is the difference between woman and women ?
- What is the difference between at Monday and on Monday and in Monday ?
Topic Questions
- What is the difference between itās all but ā¦. and itās nothing but ā¦. ?
- What is the difference between My mom had me make my bed up and My mom had me making my bed up ?
- What is the difference between assumption and conjecture ?
- What is the difference between emotion and feeling ?
- What is the difference between join and join in ?
Newest Questions
- What is the difference between As far as I'm concerned and As far as I know ?
- What is the difference between "I'll be away from office for a few days" and "I'll be out of offi...
- What is the difference between for and because and since and as ?
- What is the difference between Iām going. and Iām on my way. ?
- What is the difference between rainfall and precipitation ?
Previous question/ Next question
Whatās this symbol?
The Language Level symbol shows a user's proficiency in the languages they're interested in. Setting your Language Level helps other users provide you with answers that aren't too complex or too simple.
-
Beginner
Has difficulty understanding even short answers in this language.
-
Beginner-Intermediate
Can ask simple questions and can understand simple answers.
-
Intermediate
Can ask all types of general questions and can understand longer answers.
-
Advanced
Can understand long, complex answers.
Sign up for premium, and you can play other user's audio/video answers.
What are gifts?
Show your appreciation in a way that likes and stamps can't.
By sending a gift to someone, they will be more likely to answer your questions again!
If you post a question after sending a gift to someone, your question will be displayed in a special section on that personās feed.
Tired of searching? HiNative can help you find that answer you're looking for.
