Meaning & Usage
✨ Basic Meaning
A suffix used to transform an adjective of emotion, sensation, or desire into an Ichidan (ru-type) verb, specifically to express the feelings or desires of a third person.
🎯 Primary Function
To describe a third person’s internal state (feelings, desires) based on the speaker’s external observation.
📋 Grammar Structure
(Verb たい form stem: drop the final い) + がる
(i-Adjective Stem: drop the final い) + がる
(Specific Na-Adjectives, e.g., 嫌い) + がる
～がらない (Plain Negative) / ～がりません (Polite Negative)
🎭 Usage Contexts
Formal Situations
Used regularly in both formal and professional contexts when reporting a third party’s disposition or request, often in the polite ます form.
Informal Situations
Extremely common in daily conversation when discussing friends, family, or people not present.
Written Language
Appears in narratives, reports, and essays to attribute emotions or desires to subjects (characters, people, animals).
Spoken Language
Highly frequent, especially in the progressive form (～がっている) to describe an ongoing state.
💡 Common Applications
Expressing the Desire of a Third Party
Attached to the stem of the desire form (たい) to show a non-speaker’s wish. This is the only way to express a third person’s ‘want to V’ in Japanese.
Example: 彼は家に帰りたがっている。 (Kare wa ie ni kaeritagatte iru.)
Observing a Third Party’s Emotion or Sensation
Attached to the stem of i-adjectives like 怖い (kowai – scary) or 寒い (samui – cold) to indicate the person is outwardly exhibiting that feeling (e.g., shivering, looking scared).
Example: 妹は怖い映画を見たがらない。 (Imōto wa kowai ēga o mitagaranai.)
Reporting Dislike (嫌がる)
A common irregular form attached to 嫌い (kirai – dislike), changing it into a verb that means ‘to show reluctance or dislike.’
Example: 私の犬は散歩を嫌がる。 (Watashi no inu wa sanpo o iyagaru.)
Frequency
High (Essential for daily conversation when discussing others)
Difficulty
N4 / N3 (Intermediate)
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Example Sentences
Example #1
息子はよくゲームをしたがります。
Furigana: むすこは よく ゲームを したがります。
Romaji: Musuko wa yoku gēmu o shitagarimasu.
English: My son often wants to play games.
Example #2
彼女は暗い場所を怖がっています。
Furigana: かのじょは くらい ばしょを こわがっています。
Romaji: Kanojo wa kurai basho o kowagatte imasu.
English: She seems to be afraid of dark places.
Example #3
初めて会う人の前で、彼はいつも恥ずかしがります。
Furigana: はじめて あう ひとの まえで、かれは いつも はずかしがります。
Romaji: Hajimete au hito no mae de, kare wa itsumo hazukashigarimasu.
English: In front of new people, he always acts shy.
Example #4
おばあさんはいつも寒がっているので、毛布が必要です。
Furigana: おばあさんは いつも さむがっているので、もうふが ひつようです。
Romaji: Obāsan wa itsumo samugatte iru node, mōfu ga hitsuyō desu.
English: Grandma is always feeling cold, so she needs a blanket.
Example #5
猫は水を嫌がる生き物だ。
Furigana: ねこは みずを いやがる いきものだ。
Romaji: Neko wa mizu o iyagaru ikimono da.
English: Cats are creatures that dislike water.
Example #6
誰もその難しい仕事に行きたがらない。
Furigana: だれも その むずかしい しごとに いきたがらない。
Romaji: Daremo sono muzukashii shigoto ni ikitagaranai.
English: Nobody wants to go to that difficult job.
Example #7
その子があの新しいおもちゃを欲しがっている。
Furigana: そのこは あの あたらしい おもちゃを ほしがっている。
Romaji: Sono ko ga ano atarashii omocha o hoshigatte iru.
English: That child wants that new toy (and is showing it).
Example #8
彼は人前で話すのを嫌がっているようだ。
Furigana: かれは ひとまえで はなすのを いやがっている ようだ。
Romaji: Kare wa hitomae de hanasu no o iyagatte iru yō da.
English: It seems he dislikes talking in front of people.
Example #9
お嬢さんは甘いものを食べたがりますか。
Furigana: おじょうさんは あまい ものを たべたがりますか。
Romaji: Ojōsan wa amai mono o tabetagari masuka.
English: Does your daughter want to eat something sweet?
Example #10
彼は虫を怖がるので、近づかないで。
Furigana: かれは むしを こわがるので、ちかづかないで。
Romaji: Kare wa mushi o kowagaru node, chikazukanaide.
English: Since he is afraid of insects (exhibits fear), don’t go near him.
Notes & Nuances
📌 Important Points
Requirement of External Observation
The pattern can only be used when the speaker is observing external evidence (action, expression, sound) of the feeling or desire. If you are guessing the third person’s feelings without evidence, use structures like ～だろう or ～ようだ.
Example: 部長は帰りたいだろう。 (Buchō wa kaeritai darō.)
The Third Person Rule is Strict
While generally restricted to the third person, speakers sometimes use it when speaking about themselves *as if* they were another person (e.g., quoting an internal feeling in a humorous way) or when a parent talks to a child (e.g., Mom wants…). This is an exception.
Example: お母さんがお菓子を欲しがっているよ。 (Okāsan ga okashi o hoshigatte iru yo.)
Limited to Emotional/Sensory Adjectives
がる is most frequently attached to adjectives related to emotion or sensation (e.g., 寒い, 怖い, 悲しい, 恥ずかしい, 嬉しい, 欲し). Not all adjectives can take がる.
Example: 寂しい (sabishii: lonely) -> 寂しがる (sabishigaru: acts lonely)
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ 私は寒いがる。 (Watashi wa samugaru.)
✅ Replace the adjective with the simple descriptive adjective (e.g., 私は寒い).
がる is only for describing non-speaker subjects. Speakers use the plain adjective to express their own feelings.
❌ 寒いがる (samuigaru) or 食べたいがる (tabetaigaru)
✅ Use the full adjective/desire form stem (e.g., 寒がる, 食べたがる).
The final ‘い’ of the adjective or the ‘たい’ form must be dropped before adding がる.
🏛️ Cultural Context
Politeness Level: Neutral. The politeness is determined by the conjugation (ます for polite, plain form for casual). The grammar pattern itself does not inherently imply rudeness or excessive politeness.
Social Situations: Crucial for maintaining social distance, as direct attribution of feelings to others is avoided unless reporting external signs. It is considered slightly presumptuous to state a third party’s internal feelings directly without this pattern.
Regional Variations: Standard Japanese grammar. No significant regional variations exist for the structure itself.
🔍 Subtle Differences
寒い (samui) vs. 寒がる (samugaru)
寒い is a direct statement of the speaker’s internal feeling (“I am cold”). 寒がる is a verb describing a third person’s behavior that indicates they are cold (“He acts cold/shivers”).
When to use: Use 寒い when talking about yourself. Use 寒がる when observing and describing someone else.
～たい (tai) vs. ～たがる (tagaru)
～たい expresses the speaker’s desire (“I want to go”). ～たがる expresses a third person’s desire based on external signs (“He wants to go” or “He is asking to go”).
When to use: Use ～たい for the speaker. Use ～たがる when discussing anyone else’s desire.
📝 Conjugation Notes
Once the suffix がる is attached, the resulting word becomes a regular Ichidan verb (る-verb). Therefore, it conjugates into the various verb forms: がる (dictionary), がらない (negative), がった (past), がって (te-form), がります (polite).
🔊 Pronunciation Tips
The ‘ga’ sound in がる is usually pronounced with a soft, nasalized ‘g’ sound in Tokyo/Kanto dialect, similar to the ‘ng’ in ‘singing’, but for learners, a hard ‘g’ is perfectly acceptable. Stress falls on the syllable preceding がる (e.g., ko-WAgatte).
🧠 Memory Tips
Think of がる (garu) as ‘gazing’ at someone and reporting what you see. It transforms an internal state (adjective) into an observable action (verb).
Other Grammar
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