がる / がっているgaru gatteiru“show signs of feeling”

がる turns a feeling adjective into a verb that describes how someone else is acting on that feeling. 寒い means “cold” (as I feel it); 寒がる means “to act cold, to show that you feel cold.” In the ている form it describes what you can see right now: 子どもがおもちゃを欲しがっています — “The child really wants the toy” (and is making that obvious).

The pattern exists because Japanese is strict about whose feelings you can state as fact. You can say 私は寒い, but you can’t look inside another person’s head, so for a third person you describe their visible behaviour instead. がる is the main tool for that.

がる reports a feeling from the outside: not “she is scared,” but “she is acting scared.”

What does がる / がっている mean?

Feeling words like 寒い, 痛い, 怖い, 欲しい and 嫌 describe the speaker’s own inner state. In a plain statement, they are assumed to be about you:

• 怖いです。 — I’m scared.
• 足が痛い。 — My leg hurts.

To talk about someone else, you attach がる and describe what they are showing:

• 妹は犬を怖がっています。 — My sister is scared of the dog (you can tell from how she acts).
• 弟は足を痛がっています。 — My brother is complaining that his leg hurts.

English translations vary with the adjective: “seems cold,” “is dying to have,” “is complaining about the pain,” “is acting shy,” “doesn’t want to.” What stays constant is the viewpoint: the speaker is an observer, reporting signs, words or behaviour.

How to form がる / がっている

Take the adjective stem and add がる. The result is an ordinary う-verb.

Because がる is a う-verb, it conjugates like 帰る: がります, がって, がった, がらない. Build the ている form exactly as you learned in ている.

The same idea applies to たい: 行きたい becomes 行きたがる, “to be eager to go.” That version has its own post: たがる.

Particle change: 欲しい and 怖い mark their object with が, but がる verbs are transitive and take を. りんごが欲しい becomes りんごを欲しがる.

When is がる / がっている used?

• Describing children and pets: うちの猫は水を怖がる. Their feelings are obvious from their behaviour, so がる fits perfectly.
• Reporting family members’ feelings: 母は寒がっています, 父は残念がっていました.
• Habits and tendencies: the dictionary form (がる) describes a general pattern — 妹はいつも注射を嫌がる, “My sister always hates getting shots.”
• A scene happening now: the ている form (がっている) describes a current state you can observe.

がる is a description of behaviour, so it has a slightly detached, observing tone. That makes it fine for family, friends, children and animals, but a bit blunt when talking about a boss or teacher. With people above you, speakers usually soften it with そうです or ようです instead.

がる / がっている example sentences

Every subject here is a third person — a child, a dog, family members. That’s the typical home of がる.

Nuance of がる / がっている

がる describes outward signs: facial expressions, complaints, body language, things people say. 寒がっている can mean the person is shivering, rubbing their arms, or saying 寒い、寒い. You are reporting what you observed, not claiming to know their inner state.

This is why がる can carry a faint judgement. 痛がっている can imply “making a fuss about the pain,” and 欲しがる often suggests the wanting is showing a bit too openly — which is why it is so common with children. In the right context the observer’s tone is neutral, but never use it where you would want to sound respectful.

For yourself, you normally use the plain adjective: 寒いです, not 寒がっています. The exception is when you describe yourself from the outside, often about the past or a habit: 子どものころ、私は犬を怖がっていた — “As a child, I used to be scared of dogs.”

💡 Noun form: add り to get a personality word: 寒がり (someone who feels the cold easily), 怖がり (a scaredy-cat), 恥ずかしがり (a shy person). See がり.

がる / がっている vs そうだ

Both let you talk about someone else’s feelings from what you can see. The difference is how much evidence you have and how strongly you state it.

Use がる when the feeling is on display and you are reporting it. Use そうだ (looks like) when you are only judging from how someone looks, or when you want to stay polite. For a feeling that has been reported to you second-hand, use らしい instead.

Common mistakes with がる / がっている

Is がる / がっている on the JLPT?

A classic item gives 弟は新しい自転車（が／を）欲しがっています. The answer is を.

Practice questions for がる / がっている

Learning path for がる / がっている

Related grammar to review next

• たがる — the same outside-view for wanting to do something: 行きたがる.
• がり — the noun form for personality types like 寒がり and 恥ずかしがり.
• そうだ (appearance) — the softer “looks cold” option, safe for anyone.
• らしい — for feelings you only heard about, not saw.
• が欲しい — the first-person want that 欲しがる reports from outside.

Learn がる / がっている with Hane

Hane pairs 欲しい with 欲しがる and 怖い with 怖がる in the same review, so the が→を switch and the first-person rule stick. Practise N4 feeling grammar in Hane.