What Is It That She Wants?: Expressing Desires with I-Adjectives and the -Garu Form in Japanese：Today, however, we’re going to learn how to talk about other people and their wants and desires. In order to do this, we must turn i-adjectives into verbs by adding –garu to the end. Here we go!
Contents
I-Adjectives Review
Before we begin, let’s review what an i-adjective is. There are two types of adjectives in Japanese: those that end in the hiragana い (i) and those that end in な (na). Today we are focusing on i-adjectives only. Let’s take a look at some examples of i–adjectives.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 赤い | akai | red |
| 小さい | chiisai | small |
| 怖い | kowaii | scary |
| 欲しい | hoshii | want (in adjective form) |
| 恥ずかしい | hazukashii | shy |
Example sentences:
あのチューリップは赤い。
Ano chuurippu wa akai.
That tulip is red.
私は新しい車が欲しい。
Watashi wa atarashii kuruma ga hoshii.
I want a new car. (Note: Hoshii is an adjective in the Japanese sentence)
Turning I-Adjectives into Verbs
Now that we’ve reviewed a few i-adjectives, let’s turn them into verbs! Turning an i–adjective into a verb is easy: just remove the い (i) and replace it with がる (garu)!
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 赤 | aka | red ➝ to be red |
| 小さ | chiisa | small ➝ to be small |
| 怖 | kowa | scary ➝ to be scary |
| 欲し | hoshi | want (as an adjective) ➝ want (as a verb) |
| 恥ずかし | hazukashi | shy ➝ to be shy |
Now that we’ve learned how to turn i-adjectives into verbs, let’s make a few sentences.
Before that, however, it’s important to note that in most cases, the -garu form is used when talking about people in the third person (in other words, people other than yourself). This is because we don’t know how other people truly feel and can only make a guess via available evidence (e.g. the look on their face, hearing something they had said before, knowing their character, etc.) Therefore, we use the -garu form to express the nuance that another person “seems to be” or “looks like” they are feeling a certain way.
In the examples below, the particle を (wo) is used to mark the direct object (i.e. the thing that they are scared of, want, or are shy of).
Also note that the present progressive form っている (-tte iru) is used to express a current state that may not extend into the future (as in the last two examples).
Example sentences:
エリックはホラー映画を怖がる。
Erikku wa horaa eiga wo kowagaru.
(It seems to me that) Eric is scared of horror movies.
彼女は新しい車を欲しがっている。
Kanojo wa atarashii kuruma wo hoshigatte iru.
(It seems to me that) She (currently) wants a new car.
子供は知らない人を恥ずかしがっている。
Kodomo wa shiranai hito wo hazukashigatte iru.
(It seems to me that) My child (at this current age) is shy around strangers.
Expressing Our Wants and Desires by Using the たい (-Tai) Form
Now that we know how to turn i-adjectives into verbs, let’s do the opposite! Let’s turn verbs into i-adjectives by using the たい (-tai) form! This is done in order to express a want or desire to do something.
There are two steps involved when conjugating a verb into the -tai form. The first step is to change it into the formal -masu form. Let’s look at a few examples.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 食べる ➝ 食べます | taberu ➝ tabemasu | to eat ➝ to eat (formal) |
| 行く ➝ 行きます | iku ➝ ikimasu | to go ➝ to go (formal) |
| 会う ➝ 会います | au ➝ aimasu | to meet ➝ to meet (formal) |
Next, we remove the -masu part and replace it with -tai.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 食べ | tabe | to eat (formal) ➝ want to eat |
| 行き | iki | to go (formal) ➝ want to go |
| 会い | ai | to meet (formal) ➝ want to meet |
Let’s look at a few examples of expressing our own wants and desires. In the first example, the particle を (wo) is used to mark the direct object (i.e. the thing that the person wants to eat). In the second and third examples, に (ni) is used to mark the direct object because ni is the particle usually associated with going places and meeting people.
Example sentences:
私はスパゲティを食べたい。
Watashi wa supageti wo tabetai.
I want to eat spaghetti.
私は日本に行きたい。
Watashi wa nihon ni ikitai.
I want to go to Japan.
私は彼氏に会いたい。
Watashi wa kareshi ni aitai.
I want to see (meet) my boyfriend.
Expressing the Wants and Desires of Others by Adding –Garu to the –Tai Form
Now that we’ve familiarized ourselves with how to talk about our own wants and desires, it’s time to learn how to express the wants and desires of others. In order to do this, we must add -garu to the end of the –tai form.
Since a verb in its -tai form is technically an i–adjective, the same rule applies for tacking on -garu. You just remove the い (i) and add がる (-garu). Take a look below.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 食べた | tabeta | want to eat ➝ to want to eat |
| 行きた | ikita | want to go ➝ to want to go |
| 会いた | aita | want to meet ➝ to want to meet |
Again, we are adding –garu to the end because we are talking about other people (not ourselves) and what it seems/looks like they want to do.
Example sentences:
エリックはピザを食べたがっている。
Erikku wa piza wo tabetagatte iru.
(It seems that) Eric wants to eat pizza.
彼女はディズニーランドに行きたがっている。
Kanojo wa dizuniirando ni ikitakatte iru.
She (gives off the impression that she) wants to go to Disneyland.
彼は彼女に会いたがっている。
Kare wa kanojo ni aitagatte iru.
He (gives off the impression that he) wants to see his girlfriend.
In summary, the -tai form is used to express our wants and desires to other people. The –garu form is used to express what others seem to want or desire based on the evidence at hand (e.g. the expression on their face, our knowledge of their character, what they’ve said before, etc.).
Don’t forget, all of you budding ninja and samurai out there! There’s nothing more important than getting out there and practicing what you’ve learned. So, get out there and practice, practice, practice!
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