Meaning & Usage
✨ Basic Meaning
Expresses a tendency or characteristic trait of a person.
🎯 Primary Function
To describe that someone frequently feels or acts in a certain way (often something they are sensitive about or prone to).
📋 Grammar Structure
[い-adjective stem] + がり
[Noun] + がり (Less common at N4 level, mostly derived forms)
🎭 Usage Contexts
Formal Situations
Generally avoided in highly formal contexts.
Informal Situations
Commonly used in everyday conversations.
Written Language
More frequent in informal writing, like letters or casual online posts.
Spoken Language
Very common in spoken Japanese when describing people.
💡 Common Applications
Describing personality traits
Used with adjectives related to feelings or personality.
Example: 彼女は恥ずかしがりです。 (Kanojo wa hazukashigari desu.) – She is shy.
Describing physical sensitivities
Used with adjectives related to physical sensations like cold or heat.
Example: 私は寒がりなので、冬は苦手です。 (Watashi wa samugari nanode, fuyu wa nigate desu.) – I am sensitive to cold, so I don’t like winter.
Describing desires or fears
Used with words related to desire or fear (often derived from verbs).
Example: 弟は欲しがりで、いつもおもちゃをねだります。 (Otōto wa hoshigari de, itsumo omocha o nedarimasu.) – My younger brother is greedy and always asks for toys.
Frequency
Moderately frequent, especially when talking about people’s characteristics.
Difficulty
N4
Example Sentences
彼は寂しがり屋だから、一人にしないでください。
He is lonely, so please don’t leave him alone.
うちの子はとても怖がりです。
Our child is very easily scared.
祖母は暑がりなので、夏はエアコンが欠かせません。
My grandmother is sensitive to heat, so air conditioning is essential in summer.
Notes & Nuances
📌 Important Points
Specific Adjectives/Nouns
が normally attaches to the stem of certain い-adjectives related to feelings or physical sensations (e.g., 寂しい, 恥ずかしい, 寒い, 暑い, 怖い, 欲しい) or specific nouns (e.g., けちんぼう). It doesn’t work with all adjectives.
Example: 寂しい -> 寂しがり
寒い -> 寒がり
欲しい -> 欲しがり
けちんぼう -> けちんぼうがり (less common, often just けちんぼう)
Describes a Trait/Tendency
It describes a characteristic or recurring behavior/feeling of a person, not a temporary state. It implies “the type of person who tends to be/feel X.”
Example: 彼女は今日、寂しがっています。(Kanojo wa kyō, sabishigatte imasu.) – She is feeling lonely today. (Temporary state using 〜がる)
彼女は寂しがりです。(Kanojo wa sabishigari desu.) – She is the type of person who tends to be lonely. (Characteristic trait using がり)
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ Using がり with verbs or inappropriate adjectives.
✅ がり is typically used with specific adjectives/nouns related to feelings, sensations, or desires.
You cannot say 食べがり (tabegari – wanting to eat) or 走りがり (hashirigari – wanting to run). Use 〜たがる (tagaru) for desire or other expressions for actions.
❌ Confusing がり with 〜たがる (tagaru).
✅ 〜たがる describes someone else’s *observable* desire to do a verb action (e.g., 食べたがる – wants to eat). がり describes a person’s *tendency* or *trait* based on certain adjectives/nouns.
子供はおもちゃを欲しがっています。(Kodomo wa omocha o hoshigatte imasu.) – The child seems to want the toy (observable desire).
子供は欲しがりです。(Kodomo wa hoshigari desu.) – The child is greedy/always wanting things (trait).
🏛️ Cultural Context
Politeness Level: Generally informal to neutral. Politeness depends on the context and the word used.
Social Situations: Frequently used when describing friends, family, or acquaintances.
Regional Variations: Usage is fairly standard across regions, though specific words used with がり might vary slightly.
🔍 Subtle Differences
がり vs 〜やすい (~yasui)
がり describes an *inherent tendency* or *trait* of a person (often related to feeling/sensation). 〜やすい describes that something is *easy to do* or *prone to happen* (can apply to things or people’s actions).
When to use: Use がり for a person’s characteristic feeling/sensation tendency (shy, cold, lonely). Use 〜やすい for actions that are easy to do or things that break easily, etc.
がり vs 〜っぽい (~ppoi)
がり describes a strong *tendency* or *characteristic*. 〜っぽい describes something that is *like* something else, *looks like* it, or has the *quality* of something (can be less strong than がり).
When to use: Use がり for core tendencies like shyness or sensitivity to cold. Use 〜っぽい for things that are “childish,” “girlish,” “reddish,” etc., or a weaker tendency like “forgetful-ish.”
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When to use: undefined
📝 Conjugation Notes
For い-adjectives, remove the final い and attach がり. For nouns, simply attach がり (though this is less common and often with specific nouns).
🔊 Pronunciation Tips
がり is pronounced “gari,” with emphasis on the “ga.”
🧠 Memory Tips
Think of がり as describing a person’s “garit” (habit/trait). It’s linked to 〜がる (~garu) which also shows an external observation of an internal state/desire, but がり is more about the person’s enduring characteristic.
Practice Exercises
彼は＿＿＿＿＿＿から、大勢の人の前で話すのが苦手です。
寂しがり
恥ずかしがり
寒がり
欲しがり
冬でも半袖を着ているなんて、彼は＿＿＿＿＿＿ですね。
寂しがり
恥ずかしがり
寒がり
暑がり
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