〜たがる — (Third person) wants to do
Expresses a third person's desire to do something, inferred from their outward behavior. たがる is the 'observed' counterpart of たい, used to describe someone else's visible wish.
Structure
[Verb masu-stem] + たがる / たがっている
Examples
子供はいつもゲームをしたがる。
Kodomo wa itsumo geemu wo shitagaru.
Kids always want to play games.
し + たがる = shows an outward desire to do
彼は日本に行きたがっている。
Kare wa Nihon ni ikitagatte iru.
He wants to go to Japan (judging by his behavior).
行き + たがっている = showing signs of wanting to go
犬が外に出たがっているので、散歩に行ってきます。
Inu ga soto ni detagatte iru node, sanpo ni itte kimasu.
The dog wants to go outside, so I'll take it for a walk.
出 + たがっている = visibly wanting to go out
• Key: たい = first-person 'I want to'; たがる = third-person 'they (visibly) want to.' Same pattern as 欲しい vs 欲しがる. • たがる conjugates as a u-verb: たがります, たがった. • たがっている describes the ongoing state of showing the desire. • Note: the object of たがる is often marked with を, whereas たい allows が or を (水が/を飲みたい → 水を飲みたがる).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones 〜たがる is tested against.
vs 〜たい
たい states the SPEAKER'S own desire (and can question the listener's). たがる is only for a third party's desire inferred from their behavior — you can't use たがる about yourself.
vs ほしがる
ほしがる is the same がる mechanism but for wanting an OBJECT (a noun), while たがる is for wanting to DO an action (a verb).
More verb forms
- てくる — Come Doing / Has Been Doing (Toward Now)
- てみる — Try Doing (and See)
- Potential Form — Can / Be Able To (Verbs)
- がる／がっている — Describing Others' Feelings
- 〜出す (だす) — Abrupt Eruptions
- 〜始める (はじめる) — Intentional Beginnings
- 意向形 (いこうけい) — Volitional Form (Let's / I'll)
- くする / にする — Make something become (a quality)
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