see a doctor / isha o miru?
This is an easy sentence, but even advanced students may get it wrong sometimes. Even when someone makes the mistake, the people who hear it probably won’t correct it because they understand what the person means.
Isha o miru.
Of course, it is "I will see a doctor”. But, this is wrong because you can’t always translate “see” into “miru”. Especially when “see” has a meaning of “meeting”, use it carefully.
be near and recognize somebody, meet somebody by chance
Example1: I saw your mother in town today.
Meaning 1: Kyo machi de anata no okasan o mita yo. → I only saw her. I didn’t speak to her. It implies my meeting her was by chance (a coincidence).
Meaning 2: Kyo machi de anata no okasan ni guzen atta yo. →I spoke to her even though it was only a greeting. It also implies my meeting her was by chance (a coincidence).
visit, have a meeting with somebody
Example: I am seeing my lawyer tomorrow.
Meaning: Ashita bengoshi ni au.
receive a call or visit
Example: She is too ill to see anyone.
Meaning: Kanojo wa guai ga waru sugite, dare ni mo aenai.
spend time in the company of somebody
Example: She doesn't want to see him any more.
Meaning: Kanojo wa kare ni mou aitakunai.
So, when you have a purpose such as talking or doing something with someone, you use “hito ni au”. “hito o miru” is an action when you become aware of someone by using your eyes. Therefore, it is ok to translate "I will see a doctor” into “isha ni au”, but I think it is more common to say “isha ni iku” or “byouin ni iku”.
Also, “a doctor examines a patient” (to assess their condition of health or illness) is “isha ga kanja o miru” We use a different kanji from the normal “miru” for this “miru”, but it is an example of the action “miru”. We think of a human body as a thing in this case.
Furthermore, I noticed something from talking with non-Japanese people. “Hospital” and “clinic” are differentiated in English. Although there is a difference in definitions in Japanese, we don’t care about the difference between “byouin” (hospital) and “shinryoujo” (clinic) in daily conversation.
Actually, I think we often say “byouin ni itta” even when we went to a clinic.