「overlook」と「oversee」の違いは何？

I've written a few posts about my recent visit to Koenji. It was lots of fun, and there was plenty of strange English there.

People often have trouble with "see" and "look", and that trouble is compounded when they are used in other expressions. That's why someone asked me recently about the difference between "overlook" and "oversee".

"Overlook" sometimes means "to look past something, missing it", while "oversee" means "to manage". Here are some definitions from Eijiro on the Web.

overlook 【他動】

1. 見落｛み お｝とす
   ・You're overlooking something. : 何か見落としてるよ。
2. 〔チャンス などを〕逃す
   ・You shouldn't overlook a chance. : チャンスを逃してはいけない。

oversee 【他動】

1. ～を監督｛か んとく｝する、監視｛かんし｝する◆【同】watch over
   ・The 900 poll watchers are supposed to be sent to oversee the elections in El Salvador. : エルサルバドルの選挙に900人の選挙監視団が送られることになった。
2. ～をこっそり見る、たまたま目撃｛もくげき｝する

The sign above has a funny spelling mistake. The writer appears to have overlooked it when painting the sign. Apparently, no one with English skill is overseeing the sign-maker's work, either. Maybe the sign-maker was enjoying cocktails while making the sign.

Make sure you don't overlook any spelling mistakes in your writing. Using a spell-checker is easy!