Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 3: 16/18

がるTo feel, To think, To act as if, To want, To desire

がる is used in たがる construction, which is simply + がる.

Structure

[い]Adjective[+ がる
[な]Adjective + がる

Details

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About がる

がる is a う-Verb that is primarily used as a suffix in Japanese. When used in this way, it means 'to act like (A)', or 'to show signs of being (A)', where (A) is the word that it is attached to.

To use がる, you will need to link it to the stem form of an い-Adjective (simply remove the い), or to the stem form of a な-Adjective (do not include the な).

がる is a verb which means 'to give the impression of (A)', or 'to act like (A)'. This is very important in Japanese, as you would not usually say how somebody else feels, unless they told you directly and you are simply repeating what you heard (in which case you would use the quotation particle ).

When you want to express the way you 'think' that someone else feels, but don't have any direct information about it, that is when がる would be natural to use. For example, if you see someone shivering in the cold, you would say something like the following.

The main difference between がる, and がっている, is that がる will be used when a person usually/always acts a certain way, whereas がっている is more about the way someone/something is acting in any specific moment.

Caution

がる may also be used to describe yourself (in the third person). This is when you want to express the way you think that you act/are acting, or a way you assume other people view your behavior.

Fun Fact

The use of がっている to express an 'in the moment' way that someone is acting, is slowly becoming less and less common in modern Japanese. Regularly, そう will be used instead, to express that someone (or something) 'seems' a certain way.



Examples

--:--

    (わたし)(ねこ)(こわ)がる

    My cat is jumpy. (Acts scared)

    (わたし)(おとうと)(つよ)がる

    My younger brother acts tough.

    あの()ゲームほしがる

    That kid (always) wants games.

    映画(えいが)()面白(おもしろ)がっています

    Watching a movie and showing signs of interest.

    ()ずかしがらないで。スピーチ上手(じょうず)だった

    Don't feel ashamed. Your speech went well.

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      がる – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (26 in total)

      • Roppo

        Roppo

        One of the sentences
        初めての飛行機なので怖いと思うけど、怖がらないでね
        Is translated as "This is your first time on an airplane so I think it might be scary, but don’t feel scared. Shouldn’t it be “… but please don’t be scared”?

      • IcyIceBear

        IcyIceBear

        same thing. ください can be added to be more polite with the “please” part.
        怖がらないでね is friendly, and a bit more casual than 怖がらないでください

      • rexd

        rexd

        “家の子供たちは家事の手伝いを___ 。(嫌)” has the hint “Progressive, Third-person, Desire”. Could someone help me see where the desire comes into this?

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