"Ela olhou pela janela."

Translation: She looked through the window.

[marinkydink]

Why is it through the window, not for the window?

[Lingodingle]

I would look for the window only if I needed one or if it were somehow hidden or too dark to be seen.

[marinkydink]

Hmm, is there no Portuguese word for "through"? Otherwise "pela" seems too vague, as it can be either for or through.

[Davide_Sun]

Could it be "através"?

[themanichero]

I thought the same. 'Ela olhou através da janela'. Maybe there is more than one way to express this.

[DomingosFN]

"Através" is a prepisition with a very specific use, in the sense that, it means "through" ONLY when a physical object is going through another. For example:

"The arrow passes through the target" meaning "A flecha passa através do alvo".

Now, because "olhar" is not a physical object, you cannot use "através" to describe it as going through the window. Most Portuguese speakers avoid using "através" simply because it's too specific, and the preposition "por" usually gets the job done in 90% of sentences. An exception would be in the same sentence I used before, where saying:

"A flecha passa pelo alvo" means "The arrow passes by the target"

In this specific case, there is a difference in using "através" instead of "por", but it still is very subtle.

[DREDWARD]

THAT'S WHAT I thought!!!

[andreaparker]

She looked 'out of the window' is also acceptable in English

[Lingodingle]

Seldom would I say, "looked through", but rather "looked out".

[Raymond704692]

Could this also indicate "looked in the window"?

[saminman]

...but apparently not for the website

[sambadojazz]

You can certainly look for a window. Unless Portuguese uses a preposition other than "por" in this case, then they should accept "She looked for the window."

[deactivated user]

• Olhar para a janela = to look at the window
• Olhar pela janela = to look through the window

[mgaristova]

to look for = procurar, buscar

[Heidijan]

Why not "She looked at the window"?

[mgaristova]

I think it would be "Ela olhou para a janela".

[WH-Paul]

If I had attempted to write this in Portuguese, I would've put 'Ela olhou através da janela' would this be wrong? I wasn't even aware that pela could be used for looking through.

[Paulenrique]

It's also right, but less common.

[AlexTheTutor]

I put "She listened by the window" and got it right? :o

[Maharlikans]

wuuuuuuuut, that's definitely weird

[Lng52-._]

I noticed many of the verbs were translated as have introduced, have produced, have taken, etc. In this instance, why not: "She has looked through the window"?

[AntonioRueda]

She saw through the window is marked as wrong

[mgaristova]

she saw = ela viu (to see = ver)

she looked = ela olhou (to look = olhar)

[AntonioRueda]

"To see" is "ver", "vir" is "to come".

In Spanish, both "ella vió (p. ver) a través de la ventana" y "ella miró (p. olhou) a través de la ventana" can be used interchangeably. I feel that olhar and ver should be synonymous in portuguese too when used as in "see through" / "look through".

Google:
look
olhar
look, inspect, watch, eye, pore, see

see
olhar, ver, contemplar, observar, examinar, considerar

[mgaristova]

oops! Thank you, just edited.

[MarcelJay]

What is pela? Por ela?

[airforcekid4]

Por + a = pela

[brom4880]

Is "atraves" more appropriate than "pela" to say looking through something?

[Paulenrique]

"Através" is mainly used for "go across + a place".

[brom4880]

OK now I see... like "traverse" in English - to go through it rather than look through it. That helped a lot. Thanks!