Japanese with Manga

Someone else's desire with

Grammar: Hope » 〜たがる

〜たがる describes what someone else wants to do, as read from their behavior: 行(い)きたがる “(they) want to go”.

Japanese reserves plain 〜たい for the speaker’s own inner desire; other people’s desires are only visible from outside, and たがる marks exactly that outside view.

Usage Notes

たがる replaces the い of 〜たい: 帰(かえ)りたい → 帰(かえ)りたがる. For a current, ongoing desire, 〜たがっている is the usual form; bare たがる suggests a tendency (“is always wanting to”).

The suffix がる (“show signs of”) works the same way on emotion adjectives: 怖(こわ)がる “act scared”, 嫌(いや)がる “show reluctance”, 欲(ほ)しがる “want (something)”. Unlike たい, たがる keeps を on the object.

Formation

  1. Verb (たい-stem) ＋ たがる
    • 弟(おとうと)は何(なん)でも知(し)りたがる
    • "My little brother wants to know everything."
  2. 〜たがっている (current desire)
    • 彼女(かのじょ)は帰(かえ)りたがっている
    • "She wants to go home (I can tell)."
  3. 〜たがらない (negative)
    • 息子(むすこ)は野菜(やさい)を食(た)べたがらない
    • "My son doesn't want to eat vegetables."
  4. Adjective stem ＋ がる
    • 犬(いぬ)は雷(かみなり)を怖(こわ)がっている
    • "The dog is acting scared of the thunder."
    • Note: がる turns inner-feeling adjectives into observable behavior.

Common Uses

Reading Someone’s Desire from Behavior

たがっている reports what someone’s actions reveal.

A Standing Tendency

Bare たがる paints a habit of wanting.

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.”
View Full Example

Reluctance in Others

たがらない reports visible unwillingness.

Related Grammar