がする describes a sensation that reaches you on its own: a sound, a smell, a taste, a physical feeling, or a hunch. 変な音がする means “there’s a strange noise,” いいにおいがする means “something smells good,” and レモンの味がする means “it tastes of lemon.” It is a JLPT N4 pattern built on the ordinary verb する.
What makes がする unusual is the grammar role of the sensation. The sound or smell is the subject (marked by が). You, the person noticing it, usually do not appear in the sentence at all.
With がする, the smell does the work: いいにおいがする is literally “a good smell is doing,” not “I smell.”
What does がする mean?
The pattern is sensation noun + が + する. English usually needs a verb of perception (“I hear,” “it smells,” “it tastes”) or a “there is” sentence. Japanese simply states that the sensation is happening.
The nouns that take がする form a fairly small, fixed group:
- Sound: 音 (sound), 声 (voice)
- Smell: におい／匂い (smell), 香り (fragrance)
- Taste: 味 (taste)
- Body sensations: 頭痛 (headache), 寒気 (chills), 吐き気 (nausea), めまい (dizziness)
- Impressions: 気 (a feeling, a hunch), 感じ (an impression)
Sight is missing from this list on purpose. You cannot say 景色がする for “I see a view.” For things you see, Japanese uses 見える instead.
How to form がする
Put a sensation noun before が, and conjugate する like any する-verb. To say what kind of sensation it is, put a modifier in front of the noun.
| Modifier type | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective | 甘いにおいがする | It smells sweet |
| な-adjective | 変な音がする | There’s a strange noise |
| Noun + の | 魚の味がする | It tastes of fish |
| ような | 雨のような音がする | It sounds like rain |
| No modifier | 声がする | I can hear someone’s voice |
Conjugation is regular: がします (polite), がした (past), がしない (no sensation). 何の音もしない means “there’s no sound at all.”
The source of the sensation is marked separately. For sounds and smells coming from somewhere, use から: 台所からいいにおいがする. For the thing that has the taste or smell, use は: このお茶は花の香りがする.
When is がする used?
Noticing something in your surroundings. Sounds and smells from another room, from outside, or from food are the classic case: 隣の部屋から音がする.
Describing flavour. When you taste something and want to say what it is like, 味がする is the natural choice: このケーキはバナナの味がする. It focuses on the flavour itself, not on whether you like it.
Reporting how your body feels. 頭痛がする, 寒気がする, and 吐き気がする sound slightly more formal than 頭が痛い. You will hear them at the doctor’s and read them on medicine packaging.
Saying you have a hunch. 気がする means “I have a feeling that…”: 明日は雨が降るような気がする. This is one of the most common uses in daily conversation, and it gets its own N3 treatment as ような気がする.
Register: がする is neutral and works in both speech and writing. The politeness level only changes with the ending (がします / がする).
がする example sentences
台所からいいにおいがします。
Something smells good in the kitchen.
外で変な音がしました。
There was a strange noise outside.
このジュースはりんごの味がする。
This juice tastes of apple.
隣の部屋から子どもの声がする。
I can hear children’s voices from the next room.
この花は甘い香りがしますね。
These flowers have a sweet scent, don’t they?
朝から少し頭痛がします。
I’ve had a slight headache since this morning.
あの人、どこかで会ったことがあるような気がする。
I feel like I’ve met that person somewhere before.
Notice that none of the sentences contains 私は. The experiencer is understood. Examples 1 and 4 mark the place the sensation comes from with から; examples 3 and 5 mark the thing that has the taste or scent with は.
Nuance of がする
がする presents a sensation as something that happens to you, not something you do. That is why it cannot be used for deliberate actions. If you lean over a pot and sniff on purpose, that is 嗅ぐ. If you taste the soup to check the seasoning, that is 味見する. If you sit down to listen to music, that is 聞く. がする is for what arrives without effort.
It also stays close to the raw sensation. 雨の音がする says “there’s a sound of rain” — it reports the sound. It does not claim for certain that it is raining. That slight distance is why 気がする works so well for hunches: you are reporting a feeling, not stating a fact.
Careful with people as the topic. このスープは変なにおいがする is about the soup. But 田中さんは変なにおいがする means Tanaka-san smells odd — he is the source. To say “I can smell something,” leave yourself out: 何か変なにおいがする.
がする vs 聞こえる
For sounds, learners often wonder whether to say 音がする or 音が聞こえる. Both can describe the same moment, but they focus on different things.
Use 聞こえる when the question is whether something can be heard: 声が小さくて聞こえません (your voice is too quiet, I can’t hear). がしない would sound strange there, because the voice clearly exists. Use がする when you simply notice a sound and care about what it is or where it comes from. And remember that 聞こえる has no partner for smell or taste — for those, がする is the only option.
Common mistakes with がする
The sensation is the subject, so it takes が. With を, する would mean you are producing the smell on purpose.
With 私は as the topic, the sentence says that you smell strange. Leave the experiencer out.
For a flavour you taste, use 味がする. 味がある usually means “has character, has charm,” as in 味のある字 (handwriting with character).
がする does not cover sight. Things you see take 見える.
Is がする on the JLPT?
Yes. がする appears at N4 in particle and verb-choice questions, and 気がする shows up again in N3 reading passages.
At N4 you should be able to:
- Use 音・声・におい・味・気 with が＋する, not を
- Mark the source with から and the thing with は
- Choose between 音がする and 聞こえる, and know that sight needs 見える
The most common question type is a particle blank: いいにおい（ ）します, with が, を, に, and で as options. The answer is always が. A second type asks you to choose a verb after 味が, 音が, or 香りが, with distractors such as ある, 見る, and 聞く.
Practice questions for がする
Show answer
いいにおいがします。 — Something smells good.
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昨日の夜、二階から大きい音がしました。 — There was a loud noise from upstairs last night.
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このあめはいちごの味がする。 — This candy tastes of strawberry.
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昨日から寒気がします。 — I’ve had chills since yesterday.
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何か忘れたような気がする。 — I feel like I’ve forgotten something.
Learning path for がする
Related grammar to review next
- ような気がする — the N3 “I have a feeling that…” pattern that grows directly out of 気がする.
- ようだ — supplies the ような in 雨のような音がする and states conclusions drawn from what you sense.
- に見える — the visual counterpart: “looks like,” for impressions you see rather than hear or smell.
- そうだ (appearance) — another way to report a first impression, used for how things look.
Learn がする with Hane
Hane groups 音, におい, 味, and 気 with がする so you learn them as one family, then quizzes you on が versus を in context. Practise がする in Hane.
FAQ about がする
What does がする (ga suru) mean in Japanese?
がする (ga suru) means “sense a sound, smell, taste, or feeling”. It is JLPT N4 grammar. The pattern is sensation noun + が + する. English usually needs a verb of perception (“I hear,” “it smells,” “it tastes”) or a “there is” sentence. Japanese simply states that the sensation is happening.
How do you form がする (ga suru)?
Put a sensation noun before が, and conjugate する like any する-verb. To say what kind of sensation it is, put a modifier in front of the noun.
What is the difference between がする and 聞こえる?
音がする: the sound is happening. 聞こえる: it reaches my ears.
What is an example sentence with がする (ga suru)?
台所からいいにおいがします。 — Something smells good in the kitchen.