Japanese with Manga

Wanting to photograph means with 〜たがる

Grammar Explanation: Someone else's desire with 〜たがる

Manga panel from くまぐらし showing example of Wanting to photograph means with 〜たがる.
くまぐらし » Volume 4 » Page 22

Kumada observes the bear that’s been living in his apartment for a while now, trying to determine from its personality traits whether it’s male or female.

(熊田(くまだ)):
「毎度(まいど)　食事(しょくじ)の写真(しゃしん)を取(と)りたがる」
“It always wants to take photos of its meals.”
「メスっぽい行動(こうどう)だ」
“That's pretty feminine behavior.”

Key Points

1取(と)りたがる reports a desire inferred from behavior
  • 取(と)りたい loses the final い and takes がる to form 取(と)りたがる.
  • Kumada infers the bear’s desire from its repeated behavior.
2毎度(まいど) and bare たがる describe a repeated tendency
  • 毎度(まいど) means every time, so the line says the bear wants to take a photo at each meal.
3The bear remains the unspoken subject of both observations
  • The fuller first sentence is この熊(くま)は毎度(まいど)食事(しょくじ)の写真(しゃしん)を取(と)りたがる.
  • メスっぽい describes an animal as seeming female, so Kumada treats that habit as evidence about the bear’s sex.

Vocabulary

(Every time)

毎度(まいど) means every time or on each occasion. In customer service, 毎度ありがとうございます is a familiar way to thank someone for their continued patronage.

(Photograph)

写真(しゃしん) means a photograph or photo.

(To take)

取(と)る means to take or obtain something. Its exact sense depends on what is being taken.

(Action)

行動(こうどう) means action or behavior, especially something done toward a purpose.

See Also

くまぐらし © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.