Hi

what is the difference between these 2 verbs?

which verb would i use if i wanted to say in a shop

i am only looking

or if i wanted to say

i am looking for my friend

i believe aramak is when you are searching for your friend

and bakmak to look or to see something

hi peyote

i thought the same too!

thanks for message

I agree

As far as I know bakmak from bak-look, while aramak from ara-search

thanks everyone

As a Turkish speaker, in a shop, I would say Sadece bakıyorum (I am only looking) and never, sadece arıyorum.

If what you´re looking for in the shop is your friend, you´d better to say 

arkadaşıma bakıyorum (I am looking for my friend)

bakmak, in many cases, can be used in place of aramak:

iki odalı bir ev bakıyorum

kendime yeni bir araba bakıyorum

bir aydır iş bakıyorum

kime bakmıştınız?

etc.

thanks .so when do you use the verb aramak?

In some cases we prefer bakmak and in some others aramak.

Except for some particular cases, it depends on the choice of the speaker.

From this aspect we can say that they are interchangeable (not always)

kısa kollu beyaz bir gömlek bakıyorum / arıyorum.

(I am looking for a white shirt with short sleeves.)

kime bakıyorsun? / kimi arıyorsun?

(who are you looking for?)

bakmak may make the sentence polite:

(a shop assistant)

nasıl bir gömlek bakıyorsunuz?

(what type of shirt are you looking for?)

Note that:

1. When you examine a person or property for the purpose of discovering evidence of a crime, sen arıyorsun

2. When you walk into a retail shop when you are in no hurry or just window shopping, sen bakıyorsun.

The more practice you do,the better you´ll get at picking the proper choice..