Meaning & Usage
✨ Basic Meaning
To show signs of [an emotion, sensation, or desire]; to appear to be [feeling a certain way].
🎯 Primary Function
To express the observable, external manifestation of a third person’s internal emotion, sensation, or desire.
📋 Grammar Structure
V-stem + たい (drop い) + がる (V-stem + たがる)
i-Adjective Stem (drop い) + がる
Not applicable (This pattern does not generally attach to Na-adjectives).
がる -> がらない / がりません
🎭 Usage Contexts
Formal Situations
Used but often replaced by more formal expressions in very high-level documents or speeches. (e.g., 〜という様子を見せる)
Informal Situations
Very frequently used among friends and family to discuss absent third parties.
Written Language
Used in dialogue and descriptive prose (e.g., novels, articles) but less frequent in academic writing.
Spoken Language
High frequency, essential for daily conversation about others’ behavior.
💡 Common Applications
Describing General Tendencies
Use がる (plain form) to describe a person’s general characteristic or habit (e.g., always gets scared).
Example: 彼は新しい環境を怖がる。 (Kare wa atarashii kankyō o kowagaru.)
Describing Immediate Manifestations
Use がっている (te-iru form) to describe an observable state or behavior happening right now.
Example: 子供は今、お母さんに会いたがっている。 (Kodomo wa ima, okāsan ni aitagatte iru.)
Converting Adjectives/Desires to Verbs
The pattern converts a state (adjective or desire) into a verb, allowing it to be conjugated (e.g., 寒がった, 寒がらない) and used transitively.
Example: 寒い (i-adj) → 寒がる (Verb)
Frequency
Common in spoken Japanese, especially when discussing third parties.
Difficulty
Intermediate (JLPT N4/N3)
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Example Sentences
Example #1
娘は新しいおもちゃを欲しがっている。
Furigana: むすめは あたらしい おもちゃを ほしがっている。
Romaji: Musume wa atarashii omocha o hoshigatte iru.
English: My daughter is showing signs of wanting the new toy. (She keeps looking at it.)
Example #2
彼は人前で話すのをいつも恥ずかしがる。
Furigana: かれは ひとまえで はなすのを いつも はずかしがる。
Romaji: Kare wa hitomae de hanasu no o itsumo hazukashigaru.
English: He always shows signs of embarrassment when speaking in front of people.
Example #3
犬が散歩に行きたがっているので、連れて行ってあげましょう。
Furigana: いぬが さんぽに いきたがっている ので、つれて いって あげましょう。
Romaji: Inu ga sanpo ni ikitagatte iru node, tsurete itte agemashou.
English: The dog is showing signs of wanting to go for a walk, so let’s take him.
Example #4
外国人観光客は、日本の冬の寒さを寒がった。
Furigana: がいこくじん かんこうきゃくは、にほんの ふゆの さむさを さむがった。
Romaji: Gaikokujin kankōkyaku wa, Nihon no fuyu no samusa o samugatta.
English: The foreign tourist showed signs of being cold in the Japanese winter.
Example #5
彼女はよく一人でいるのを寂しがるタイプだ。
Furigana: かのじょは よく ひとりで いるのを さびしがる タイプだ。
Romaji: Kanojo wa yoku hitori de iru no o sabishigaru taipu da.
English: She is the type of person who often shows signs of loneliness when she is alone.
Example #6
子供たちは疲れて、早く家に帰りたがった。
Furigana: こどもたちは つかれて、はやく いえに かえりたがった。
Romaji: Kodomotachi wa tsukarete, hayaku ie ni kaeritagatta.
English: The children were tired and showed signs of wanting to go home quickly.
Example #7
彼はゲームをしたがっているが、妹はしたがらない。
Furigana: かれは ゲームを したがっているが、いもうとは したがらない。
Romaji: Kare wa gēmu o shitagatte iru ga, imōto wa shitagaranai.
English: He wants to play the game, but his younger sister shows no desire to.
Example #8
暗い部屋の中で、弟はとても怖がっていた。
Furigana: くらい へやの なかで、おとうとは とても こわがっていた。
Romaji: Kurai heya no naka de, otōto wa totemo kowagatte ita.
English: My little brother was showing signs of being very scared in the dark room.
Example #9
新しい先生は、生徒に話しかけるのを嫌がっている。
Furigana: あたらしい せんせいは、せいとに はなしかけるのを いやがっている。
Romaji: Atarashii sensei wa, seito ni hanashikakeru no o iyagatte iru.
English: The new teacher is showing signs of disliking talking to the students.
Example #10
友人は辛い食べ物を食べたがらない。
Furigana: ゆうじんは からい たべものを たべたがらない。
Romaji: Yūjin wa karai tabemono o tabetagaranai.
English: My friend shows no desire to eat spicy food.
Notes & Nuances
📌 Important Points
Third-Person Subject Rule
The subject must be a third person (or an animal). The speaker (I/We) cannot be the subject.
Example: 弟は犬を怖がっている。 (Otōto wa inu o kowagatte iru.)
Adjective-to-Verb Conversion
It attaches to the stem of i-adjectives (dropping the final い), which converts the adjective into a verb.
Example: 眠い (Nemui) -> 眠がる (Nemugaru)
Desire Form Attachment
It can attach to the stem of the desire form 〜たい to express a third person’s desire based on observable actions.
Example: V-stem + たがる (e.g., 食べたがる)
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ 私は寒がります。 (Watashi wa samugarimasu.)
✅ 私は寒いです/寒がっています。 (Watashi wa samui desu / Samugatte imasu.)
がる/がっている must NOT be used for the speaker’s own feelings. Use the base adjective/desire form instead.
❌ 彼はお金が欲しいがっている。 (Kare wa okane ga hoshiigatte iru.)
✅ 彼はお金が欲しいです。 (Kare wa okane ga hoshii desu.)
If you simply state the desire without observing a manifestation, use 欲しい for a third party, often softened with そうだ or でしょう. がる implies visible action.
🏛️ Cultural Context
Politeness Level: Neutral/Standard. It’s an important pattern for Japanese communication as it avoids presuming internal knowledge of another person’s feelings, focusing only on the visible behavior.
Social Situations: Used when describing family members, friends, colleagues, or strangers. It is preferred over directly stating “He is scared” because it frames the statement as an observation (“He acts scared”).
Regional Variations: Standard across dialects. No significant regional variations in structure.
🔍 Subtle Differences
がる (Garu) vs. そうだ (Sō da – Appearance)
がる describes a visible *action* or *behavior* resulting from an internal state. そうだ describes the general *appearance* or *look* of a state (often immediate or sensory).
When to use: Use がる when talking about emotions, feelings, or desires of a third person. Use そうだ when describing the physical look of something (e.g., the weather, food, an object) or a physical state (e.g., tired look).
がる (Garu) vs. ようだ / みたいだ (Yō da / Mitai da)
がる is an actual verb describing a person’s visible behavior. ようだ/みたいだ are used to express conjecture or similarity (e.g., “He seems to want X”).
When to use: Use がる when the behavioral evidence is strong and direct. Use ようだ/みたいだ when the observation is a softer assumption or interpretation.
📝 Conjugation Notes
The resulting form (がる) is a Godan verb (Class 1, u-verb). It conjugates like a regular verb: がる (Dictionary), がります (Masu), がった (Past), がらない (Negative), がれば (Conditional).
🔊 Pronunciation Tips
The sound ‘ga’ (が) is often nasalized slightly in rapid speech, but ensure the ‘ru’ (る) at the end of がる is clearly pronounced when it’s the dictionary form. When followed by ‘te,’ the pronunciation is smooth: がっている (gatte iru).
🧠 Memory Tips
Think of ‘がる’ as representing ‘act’ or ‘show.’ You are describing the *acting out* of an emotion or desire, not the internal feeling itself. ‘Garu’ turns ‘internal state’ into ‘external action.’
Other Grammar
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