がる

In Japanese, there is a different language used when we talk about ourselves and when we talk about other people. We saw that we can tell other people what we want or what we want to do with ほしい or the verb suffix 〜たい. We can also tell other people how we feel by using the appropriate adjectives, like かなしい (sad) or うれしい (happy). 

​

However, we cannot do the same when we are talking about someone else. This is when we will use the suffix がる; it will allow us to tell how other people feel or behave based on an external impression. It can be translated as 'showing signs of being'.  

​

Adjective い (without final い) + がる
Adjective な (without final な) + がる

​

強い ➝ 強 ➝ 強がる = pretend to be strong (shows signs of being strong)
嫌な ➝ 嫌 ➝ 嫌がる = seems unpleasant, uncomfortable (showing signs of being unpleasant)

​

私の弟は強がります。

Watashi no otouto wa tsuyogarimasu.

My little brother acts as if he was strong.

​

It is possible to use the ている form with adjectives.

​

私が勝ったとき、シャオランはうらやましがっていた。

Watashi ga katta toki, Shaoran wa urayamashigatteita.

When I won, Shaoran appeared to be jealous.

​

兄が家を出たら母がさびしがる。

Ani ga ie o detara haha ga sabishigaru.

If my brother moves out of the house, my mother will feel lonely.

​

〜たがる

​

We saw that we needed to use the verb suffix 〜たい to say that we wanted to do something. It is possible to attach がる to this verb suffix as well. It will conjugate the same way as a い adjective.

​

行く ➝ 行きたい ➝ 行きたがる = appears to want to go

​

This construction indicates that a person wants to do something.

​

ミリちゃんがおかしを買いたがる。

Miri-chan ga okashi o kaitagaru.

Miri wants to buy snacks.

​

週末、私の友達が映画を見たがる。

Shuumatsu, watashi no tomodachi ga eiga o mitagaru.

My friend wants to go see a movie this weekend.

​

子共達が遊びたがっている。

Kodomo tachi ga asobitagatteiru.

The kids want to play.

​

The use of the particle を with がる

​

If we use an adjective with an object, for example, 'Sammy is scared of bears', we use the particle が. 

​

サミは熊が怖いです。

Sami wa kuma ga kowai desu.

​

But when we use the verb がる, since がる is a verb, we will use the particle を instead.

​

サミは熊を怖がっています。

Sami wa kuma o kowagatteimasu.

​

Adjectives with がる act like verbs, and not like adjectives.

​

僕はシャオランがうらやましい。

Boku wa Shaoran ga urayamashii.

I am jealous of Shaoran.

​

But...

​

シャオランは僕をうらやましがっている。

Shaoran wa boku o urayamashigatteiru.

Shaoran is jealous of me.

​

Using がる for ourselves

​

Even though がる is used to tell how someone might feel or behave, we can use がる to describe how our behavior might affect other people around us.

​

僕がおかしを欲しがると、妹はいつも分けてくれる。

Boku ga okashi o hoshigaru to, imouto wa itsumo wakete kureru.

When I want some snacks, my little sister is always ready to share.

​

In this sentence, I am showing how my behavior of wanting snacks will affect my little sister. When I want some snacks, she will want to share her snacks with me.

​

がり for nouns

​

We can use がり to turn adjectives into nouns.

​

さびしがり人 = a person who shows signs of being lonely (a lonely person)
怖がり猫 = a cat who shows signs of being scared (a scared cat)

​

In Japanese, there is a way to turn some adjectives into nouns by adding さ. It gives the nuance that the noun is objective and measurable. It is the equivalent of 'ness' in English, like 'liveliness', 'freshness', 'goodness', etc.

​

高い = 高さ (height)
便利な = 便利さ (practicality)
重い = 重さ (weight)

​

空港に行く前にかばんの重さを測りました。

Kuukou ni iku mae ni kaban no omosa o hakarimashita.

Before going to the airport, I measured the weight of my luggage.

​

You can combine さ to other suffixes, like 〜たい, 〜やすい, 〜にくい, 〜らしい, 〜づらい, or 〜っぽい.

​

使う ➝ 使いやすい ➝ 使いやすさ = usability

男 ➝ 男らしい ➝ 男らしさ = masculinity

行く ➝ 行きたい ➝ 行きたさ = eagerness to go

​

The fundamental use of さ nouns is to express amounts that are objectively measurable.

​

プールの深さを確認してから入ろう。

Puuru no fukasa wo kakunin shite kara hairou.

Check the depth of the pool before going in.

​

You can use さ to express subjective qualities as objective truths, like やさしい, むずかしい, or おもしろい, even though these might feel subjective in nature. Adding さ creates a sense that the quality is objective or is an external truth, unlike み which suggests a more personal, internally felt quality. We will see み shortly.

​

テストの難しさをよそうできる。

Tesuto no muzukashisa o yosou dekiru.

I can imagine the difficulty of the test.

​

あなたのやさしさは私にとって大切なものです。

Anata no yasashisa wa watashi ni totte taisetsuna mono desu.

Your kindness is important to me.

​

さ in opposite pairs (like 'big' and 'small', or 'tall' and 'short') tend to have opposite meaning. For instance, 大きさ represents size, but 小ささ can only mean 'smallness'. Same thing goes for 早さ when we talk about 'speed', but 恐さ can only mean 'slowness'.

​

Let's see the difference between さ and み!

​

あの映画は面白みにかけている。

Ano eiga wa omoshiromi ni kaketeiru.

This movie is missing an element that intrigues me.

​

あの映画は面白さにかけている。

Ano eiga wa omoshirosa ni kaketeiru.

This movie is missing an element that is intriguing (to everyone).

​

In the first sentence, it is clear that the missing element is something only felt by the speaker, whereas in the second sentence, the missing element is felt by everyone, and everyone would agree that the movie is missing something interesting.

​

Unlike さ, み can only be paired with limited adjectives. As mentioned, it gives a more personal  or internal feeling to things. It gives a feeling that you are treating the noun as something subjective and personal.

​

Take these two examples:

​

お茶の甘さはどうしますか？

Ocha no amasa wa dou shimasu ka?

How sweet do you like your tea?

​

夏から秋にかけて、このトマトには特別な甘みが出てくる。

Natsu kara aki ni kakete, kono tomato ni wa tokubetsuna amami ga dete kuru.

As summer turns into fall, these tomatoes develop a special sweetness.

​

In the first sentence, the sweetness of your tea is objective, because you decide how you want your tea. In the second sentence, the sweetness of the tomatoes is subjective, because that sweetness could be different for someone else.

​

み can also be attached to adjectives to give them a certain metaphorical sense.

​

この映画には重みがある。

Kono eiga ni wa omomi ga aru.

There is a heainess in this movie. (This movie is heavy)

メイリンは暖かみがある。

Meirin wa atatakami ga aru.

There is warmth in Melin. (Meilin is a warm person)

​

み often has a verb equivalent ending in む.

​

楽しい ➝ 楽しむ ➝ 楽しみ = enjoyment
悲しい ➝ 悲しむ ➝ 悲しみ = sadness
痛い ➝ 痛む ➝ 痛み = pain
苦しい ➝ 苦しむ ➝ 苦しみ = anguish

​

Emotion adjectives, such as さびしい and うれしい, do not have a verb counterpart, thus they cannot get the suffix み. However, languages change over time, so it is possible this will change as well in the future.

​

Finally, み can also be used with flavors.

​

辛み = spiciness
甘み = sweetness
すっぱみ = sourness
しょっぱみ = saltiness
うまみ = flavorness