Third-Person Feelings in Japanese: Garu and Tagaru
In Japanese, there's a strong cultural and grammatical distinction between your own feelings and someone else's. You can state your own feelings directly (e.g., 「私は嬉しい」 "I am happy"), but you cannot do the same for a third person, because you can't truly know what's in their heart and mind.
Instead, you describe their feelings based on their appearance or behavior. The suffix 〜がる (garu) and the pattern 〜たがる (tagaru) are used for this purpose.
〜がる (garu) - Showing Signs of an Emotion
When you observe that someone is showing signs of a particular emotion, you use 〜がる (garu). It attaches to い-adjectives and な-adjectives that describe feelings.
The Formula
- い-Adjectives: Drop the final い + がる (e.g., 嬉しい → 嬉しがる)
- な-Adjectives: Drop the final な + がる (e.g., 残念だ → 残念がる)
猫は知らない人を怖がります。(Neko wa shiranai hito o kowagarimasu.)
The cat shows fear of (is afraid of) strangers.
彼は試験に落ちて、とても悲しがっています。(Kare wa shiken ni ochite, totemo kanashigatte imasu.)
He failed the exam and is showing great sadness (seems very sad).
〜たがる (tagaru) - Showing Signs of a Desire
Similarly, you learned that 〜たい is for your own desire ("I want to..."). To talk about someone else's apparent desire, you use 〜たがる (tagaru).
The Formula
Take the verb's 〜たい form, drop the final い, and add がる.
(e.g., 行きたい → 行きたがる)
弟は新しいゲームを買いたがっています。(Otōto wa atarashii gēmu o kaitagatte imasu.)
My little brother is showing signs of wanting to buy a new game.
みんな、早く帰りたがっている。(Minna, hayaku kaeritagatte iru.)
Everyone seems to want to go home early.
Important Usage Note
These forms are for observation and are generally not used when speaking directly to a superior, as it can sound like you are judging them. They are most common in narrative descriptions or when talking *about* a third person.
Congratulations on finishing Chapter 13. You are now able to express complex judgments and nuances about the world around you!