たがる

The suffix たがる is used to express that someone else (typically a third person) wants to do something. While 〜～たい expresses the speaker's own desires, たがる is used to describe another person's desires based on observable behavior, words, or actions.

Formation

Attach たがる to the verb stem (masu-stem):

• たべる食べる → 食べ → 食べたがる
• いく行く → 行き → 行きたがる
• のむ飲む → 飲み → 飲みたがる
• する → し → したがる
• くる来る → 来（き） → 来たがる

Since たがる itself is a godan verb (う-verb), it conjugates accordingly:

• Non-past: 行きたがる
• Negative: 行きたがらない
• て-form: 行きたがって
• Past: 行きたがった
• ている form: 行きたがっている

たい vs. たがる

〜～たい is used to express **your own** desires and feelings directly. Since you cannot truly know what is inside someone else's mind, Japanese uses **たがる** to describe what another person **appears to want** based on their behavior or statements.

Particle change: が → を

With 〜～たい, the object of desire is often marked with が (or を). With たがる, however, the object is typically marked with を.

Common usage with ～ている

たがる is very common in the ～ている form (たがっている) to describe someone's current desire or ongoing tendency. The plain form たがる can sound more like a general tendency ("tends to want to").

Notes

• たがる can sometimes be used with the speaker as subject when describing oneself objectively or in reported speech.
• It is also used to describe what children or pets seem to want, since their inner feelings are expressed through observable behavior.
• Be careful not to use 〜～たい for third-person desires in declarative statements – this is a common mistake for learners.