〜たがる: Talking About What Someone Else Wants
Why you can't just say what someone else wants
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 reach for 〜たがる, which carries the nuance of "shows signs of wanting" — based on what you can see or hear.
たがる or たい: whose desire is it?
The whole choice comes down to whose wish you're reporting and how directly you can know it:
| 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 |
That split has knock-on rules: your own wish and direct questions to the listener stay with 〜たい (何が食べたい？, because you're asking their feeling directly), while たがる is reserved for the desire you observe in someone else. When you're relaying a one-off remark, 〜たいと言っている ("says they want to") is often more natural than たがる, which leans toward observed behaviour or standing tendencies.
Building it from the ます-stem
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 someone's current desire, and plain 〜たがる for a general tendency.
Two shifts that trip learners: を and verb-style endings
Two reflexes carry over from たい and cause trouble. First, the object: たい lets it take が or を, but with たがる it normally takes を. Second, the conjugation — 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), which is another reason natives default to 〜たがっている for "currently wants." You can see both at work here:
ヤッタンの弟はいつもお菓子を食べたがる。
ヤッタンの おとうとは いつも おかしを たべたがる。
Yattan's little brother always wants to eat sweets.
を with たがる (not が).
モチは新しいゲームを買いたがっている。
モチは あたらしい ゲームを かいたがっている。
Mochi wants to buy a new game.
ヤッタンは何も話したがらなかった。
ヤッタンは なにも はなしたがらなかった。
Yattan didn't want to talk about anything.
Negative past: たがらなかった (godan-style conjugation).
So the errors to watch for: 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 (prefer お菓子を食べたがる), and conjugating it like an adjective (たがらない, never たがく ない).
The short version
- 〜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.
Practice it
Choose たい or たがる for each situation.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
Choose the grammar pattern that best completes the sentence.
ヤッタンの弟は新しい自転車を＿＿＿。
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.
Where 〜たがる fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜たい · N5 — 〜たい attaches to a verb stem to say what you want to do. Learn the formation, why it conjugates like an i-adjective, the が/を switch, how to talk about other people's wants (たがる), and see 12 examples.
Don't confuse it with
- 〜がほしい · N5 — ほしい expresses wanting a thing (a noun): 〜がほしい. Learn the formation, the が particle, the 〜てほしい variant ('want someone to do'), and how it differs from 〜たい.
More N4 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜ようにする — 〜ようにする means making a conscious effort to do (or not do) something — 'try to / make sure to.' Learn the formation, the negative, the ている habit form, and how it differs from ようになる.
- Causative Form — The Japanese causative (使役形, 〜させる) means make OR let someone do something. Learn how to form it, when it's coercion vs. permission, the を/に particle rule, and 〜させてください.
- Passive Form — The Japanese passive (受身形): 食べる→食べられる, 書く→書かれる. Learn the formation, the に particle for the doer, and the 'suffering passive' that shows the subject was negatively affected.
- Causative-Passive — The causative-passive 〜させられる says you were made or forced to do something you didn't want to. Learn the formation, the される contraction, and the put-upon nuance.
- 〜ために — 〜ために expresses purpose ('in order to') and benefit ('for the sake of'): dictionary verb + ために, or noun + のために. Learn the formation, the cause use, and how it differs from ように.
- Imperative & Prohibition — The plain imperative (行け, 食べろ, しろ, 来い) gives a blunt command, and dictionary form + な (行くな) forbids one. Learn the formation, the harsh tone, and softer alternatives.