As a non-native speaker, I still struggle with the phenomenon that English has a tonne of words that for me are just synonyms or the same. Native speakers keep telling me that there hardly is a synonym in English for another word, but that every word, no matter how similiar they may look, still have a somewhat different nuance or meaning. So I’ve been wondering about these here: why is it called “hide and SEEK” and not “hide and search” or “hide and looking for somebody”? What are the differences in these words and when do I use one, when the other?
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There’s not much difference in the actual meaning, although seek would give the impression that it’s a more adventurous quest than just looking for something like where the hell i set my car keys down a second ago
Yeah, it’s very subtle and hard to explain. If you said ‘hide and search’ it would sound a bit gauche but people would know what you mean. Hitting on the perfect word is very satisfying but Americans understand that the point of language is to be understood. If we can understand what you mean then it’s fine.
A simple way I think about it:
“Look for” is always appropriate.
“Search” is a little more formal. It implies thoroughness.
“Seek” is rarely used, but I think it is the most formal. It implies a very strong desire. And usually is looking for a specific person, or type of person. You can say “I’m seeking a husband” or a company would say “we are seeking a new CEO” but it would be strange to say “I’m seeking a new car”.
Great question.
I’ll answer how I see it.
You would use “seek” more in a search that is indefinite in length and effort, and could go on for a while. You would say “King Arthur sought (past tense of seek) the Holy Grail”. Think like a quest of some kind.
Search is more confined. I would search through a drawer for a paper I need, or search my backyard for a lost toy. I think it implies a combined visual and physical effort to find something specific in a defined area.
Look for, to me implies a mostly visual activity. “I’m looking for signs of movement on the horizon”. Although “search” and “look for” have the most interchangeability.
Seek = Looking for something that you now what you are looking for and where it is likely to be.
Search = Looking for something when you do not know what you are looking for and you do not know where it is likely to be.
Look for = When you know what you are looking for, but you don’t know where to look.
Look for is pretty casual. You look for a place to eat. You look for your keys.
Search is a bit more formal and implies more effort or thoroughness. You search for evidence. You search for a suspect.
Seek is kind of archaic. It really isn’t used in everyday language any more. The vast majority of people rarely say it unless they’re talking about playing hide and seek.
You have to stop trying to directly translate it. English is something you can’t learn from a power point or a translator.
To your “hide and seek” question, that’s the established name of a schoolyard game. You cannot change any of the words because then you’re no longer using the correct name.
While many English words do have additional context that may not appear in the dictionary you are using, one thing that may be confusing you is the concept of phrases. English has many set phrases where changing a word, even to a synonym, is very unusual and sounds incorrect. At some point, you have to commit to learning and using these phrases (in any language) if you want to sound more native (and they different by dialect).
A fantasy Hero seeks.
A detective in a gritty novel searches.
A 20+ girl in a find herself book look for.