〜たがる: Talking About What Someone Else Wants
Why たい becomes たがる
In Japanese, you can directly state your own feelings ("I want to go" = 行きたい), but you can't crawl inside someone else's head. So to describe a third person's desire as an observation, you use 〜たがる, which carries the nuance of "shows signs of wanting" — based on what you can see or hear.
| Form | Core idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜たい | your own wish (or listener's, in a question) | (私は) 行きたい = I want to go |
| 〜たがる | a third person's observable wish | 弟は行きたがっている = My brother wants to go |
How to form it
Take the verb's ます-stem and add たがる (then usually put it in the 〜ている form):
| Verb | ます-stem | 〜たがる |
|---|---|---|
| 行く | 行き | 行きたがる → 行きたがっている |
| 食べる | 食べ | 食べたがる → 食べたがっている |
In practice you'll most often see 〜たがっている (the ongoing-state form) for describing someone's current desire, and plain 〜たがる for general tendencies.
The particle change
There's a subtle shift to remember. With たい, the object can take が or を. With たがる, it normally takes を:
子どもはいつもお菓子を食べたがる。
こどもは いつも おかしを たべたがる。
Kids always want to eat sweets.
を with たがる (not が).
弟は新しいゲームを買いたがっている。
おとうとは あたらしい ゲームを かいたがっている。
My little brother wants to buy a new game.
彼は何も話したがらなかった。
かれは なにも はなしたがらなかった。
He didn't want to talk about anything.
Negative past: たがらなかった (godan-style conjugation).
It conjugates like a verb
Unlike たい (an い-adjective), たがる behaves like a Group 1 verb: 〜たがる, 〜たがらない, 〜たがった, 〜たがっている. That's another reason natives default to 〜たがっている for "currently wants."
When you DON'T use たがる
- About yourself: use 〜たい, never たがる (弟 needs たがる; 私 needs たい).
- In direct questions to the listener: use 〜たい (何が食べたい？), because you're asking their feeling directly.
- Quoting what someone said: you can also report with 〜たいと言っている ("says they want to"), which is often more natural than たがる for one-off statements. たがる leans toward observed behaviour or tendencies.
Common mistakes
- Using たがる for yourself. 私は行きたがっている (✗) → 私は行きたい (✓).
- Keeping が as the object. With たがる, prefer を: お菓子を食べたがる.
- Conjugating it like an adjective. It's verb-like: たがらない, not たがく ない.
Quick recap
- 〜たがる = a third person's desire ("shows signs of wanting").
- Form: ます-stem + たがる, usually 〜たがっている.
- Object normally takes を.
- Yourself / direct questions → use 〜たい.
Your turn
Choose たい or たがる for each situation.
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between たい and たがる?
たい states your own desire (or the listener's, in a question). たがる describes a third person's observable desire — 'he/she shows signs of wanting to…'.
Why can't I use たい for other people?
Japanese treats others' inner feelings as not directly knowable, so it uses たがる ('appears to want') for observations about a third person's desire.
Which particle does たがる take?
Usually を for the object: お菓子を食べたがる. (Plain たい allows が or を, but たがる prefers を.)
Is 〜たがっている different from 〜たがる?
〜たがっている describes a current, ongoing desire ('is wanting'), while plain 〜たがる often states a general tendency. The ている form is the more common everyday choice.