Posted inN4 Grammar

Expressing Others’ Feelings & Desires: Mastering 「がる / がっている」 (JLPT N4 Grammar)

Posted inN4 Grammar
Japanese Grammar Template
Meaning & Usage

✨ Basic Meaning

Indicates that a third person (someone other than the speaker) shows signs of having a certain feeling, desire, or state.

🎯 Primary Function

To describe the apparent feelings, desires, or states of others based on observation or common tendency, rather than stating a known fact about the person’s internal state.

📋 Grammar Structure

Adjective (i-adjective stem: drop い) + がる / がっている Adjective (na-adjective stem) + がる / がっている Verb (たい form, drop い) + たがる / たがっている Verb (ます form, drop ます) + たがる / たがっている (Less common for just desires, primarily used with verb+たい)

🎭 Usage Contexts

🏢 Formal Situations

Less common in very formal, objective writing. Can be used when narrating or describing subjective experiences of others.

😊 Informal Situations

Very common, especially in everyday conversation when talking about friends, family, or others.

✍️ Written Language

Used in novels, articles, and descriptions of people’s reactions. Less frequent in technical or highly formal documents.

🗣️ Spoken Language

Frequently used to comment on or describe the emotional state or desires of a third party.

💡 Common Applications

Describing fear or shyness
Often used with 怖い (fearful) or 恥ずかしい (shy/embarrassed).
Example: 子供は暗い所を怖がります。 (Kodomo wa kurai tokoro o kowagarimasu.) – Children are afraid of dark places (show fear towards dark places).
Describing desires
Used with 欲しい (want, for objects) or たい (want to, for actions). The ます form of the verb たい becomes たがります/たがっている.
Example: 彼は新しい車を欲しがっています。 (Kare wa atarashii kuruma o hoshigatte imasu.) – He wants a new car (is showing signs of wanting a new car).
Describing dislike or reluctance
Used with 嫌い (dislike) or 嫌だ (unpleasant). Often becomes 嫌がる / 嫌がっている.
Example: 彼女は人前で話すのを嫌がります。 (Kanojo wa hitomae de hanasu no o iyagarimasu.) – She dislikes speaking in front of people (shows reluctance to speak in front of people).
📊
Frequency
Commonly used when discussing the emotional states, desires, or preferences of others.
🎚️
Difficulty
Intermediate (Appropriate for JLPT N4 learners).
Example Sentences
犬は大きな音を怖がります。
Dogs are afraid of loud noises.
妹はケーキを欲しがっています。
My younger sister wants cake (is showing signs of wanting cake).
彼は初めての発表なので、とても緊張しています。
Because it’s his first presentation, he is very nervous.
Notes & Nuances

📌 Important Points

Used only for third persons
You cannot use がる or がっている to describe your *own* feelings or desires. Use adjectives like 怖い, 欲しい, etc., or the たい form for yourself.
Example: 私は怖いです。(Correct) vs 私は怖がります。(Incorrect)
がる vs がっている
がる indicates a general tendency, habit, or inherent characteristic (e.g., 子供は寒がりです – Children tend to feel cold). がっている indicates a current, ongoing state or specific instance (e.g., 彼は今、寒がっています – He is feeling cold right now).
Example: 猫は水を嫌がります。(General dislike) vs 猫はシャワーを嫌がっている。(Disliking the shower now)

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ Using がる/がっている for oneself.
✅ Use the plain adjective or verb+たい form for yourself.
がる/がっている specifically marks the feeling/desire as belonging to someone else.
❌ Incorrect conjugation with na-adjectives.
✅ Add が before がる/がっている (e.g., 嫌だ -> 嫌がる).
Na-adjectives behave slightly differently, adding が.

🏛️ Cultural Context

Politeness Level: Generally neutral to slightly informal. When talking about superiors, it might be more appropriate to use other expressions or be more indirect.
Social Situations: Common in casual conversation among friends, family, or when describing strangers. Less common when needing to maintain high formality or distance.
Regional Variations: Usage is standard across most regions, though specific vocabulary used with it might vary.

🔍 Subtle Differences

彼はお金が欲しいです vs 彼はお金を欲しがっています。
The first states a fact about his desire (perhaps known directly). The second implies the speaker *perceives* or *observes* signs that he wants money.
When to use: Use 欲しい for yourself or when stating a known fact about a third person. Use 欲しがっている when describing the outward signs of desire in a third person.
彼は怖いです vs 彼は怖がっています。
The first is a direct statement about his state (he is afraid). The second describes his behavior or appearance as showing fear.
When to use: Use 怖い for yourself or a direct statement. Use 怖がっている when you see evidence of fear (shaking, pale face, etc.) in a third person.
子供は寒いです vs 子供は寒がっています。
The first states the objective state (the child is cold). The second describes the child acting cold (shivering, complaining).
When to use: Use 寒い to state someone is cold. Use 寒がっている to describe them acting like they are cold.

📝 Conjugation Notes

I-adjectives: drop い -> stem + がる (e.g., 怖い -> 怖がる) Na-adjectives: stem + がる (e.g., 嫌だ -> 嫌がる) Verb + たい form: drop い -> Verb + たがる (e.g., 食べたい -> 食べたがる) Negative form: ～がらない / ～たがらない Past form: ～がった / ～たがった Past continuous: ～がっていた / ～たがっていた Example conjugations: 怖がる (kowagaru) – to show fear, be afraid (general) 怖がっている (kowagatte iru) – is showing fear, is afraid (current) 怖がらない (kowagaranai) – doesn’t show fear, isn’t afraid 怖がった (kowagatta) – showed fear, was afraid (past) 欲しがる (hoshigaru) – to show desire for, want (general) 欲しがっている (hoshigatte iru) – is showing desire for, wants (current) 欲しがらない (hoshigaranai) – doesn’t show desire for, doesn’t want 欲しがった (hoshigatta) – showed desire for, wanted (past)

🔊 Pronunciation Tips

Pronounced naturally as part of the word it attaches to. がる (garu) and がっている (gatte iru) follow standard Japanese pronunciation rules.

🧠 Memory Tips

Think of がる / がっている as describing someone else’s *behavior* or *appearance* that *suggests* they have a certain feeling or desire. It’s like saying “they act like they are…” or “they seem to be…”. Connect がる to words describing emotions or desires (怖い, 欲しい, 嫌い, etc.).

Practice Exercises
Choose the correct sentence using がる/がっている:
私は寒がっています。
子供は寒がっています。
私たちは寒がっています。
あなたは寒がっています。
Fill in the blank: 妹は新しいおもちゃを＿＿＿＿＿＿。
欲しがっています
欲しいです
欲しがります
欲しくないです
4 Views
Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *