探す
sa-ga-su
Groping for the right word, in Japanese
The picture Something is not in sight, so the eyes and hands keep moving from place to place over it. 探す keeps the eyes moving because nothing is found yet; 見つける is the moment that gaze lands.
Where the picture shows up in 探す
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Combing for work
今、仕事を探しています。
ima, shigoto o sagashite i-masu
I'm looking for a job right now.
Job sheets turned one by one, a finger stopping on the line whose terms fit.
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Groping for what's lost
鍵を探しているんです。
kagi o sagashite iru n desu
The thing is, I'm looking for my key.
Pockets turned out, a drawer pulled open, a hand pushed deep inside.
～ているんです is how you explain the situation behind what you are doing.
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Walking an area to choose
駅の近くで部屋を探します。
eki no chikaku de heya o sagashi-masu
I'll look for a room near the station.
Circling the lanes around the station, looking up at the windows of empty rooms.
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Asking someone to comb
この本を探してもらえますか。
kono hon o sagashite morae-masu ka
Could you look for this book?
A clerk traces the title with a fingertip and runs it down the shelf.
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Groping through words
言葉を探しながら話しました。
kotoba o sagashi-nagara hanashi-mashita
I spoke while searching for the words.
The sentence stalls; a hand gropes through the pile of words in the head.
言葉を探す pictures feeling around for the word that fits.
All of it in one picture
探す is one picture: eyes and hands moving place to place. Turn the job sheets one by one and you are job hunting; dig through pockets and drawers and you are looking for the key; walk the lanes around the station and you are flat hunting; send a clerk down the shelves and you are asking them to look; grope through the pile of words in your head and you are searching for what to say. The hand is still empty and still moving.