〜がる
Building block:showing feelings
Describes outward signs of someone's feelings or sensations, such as fear or cold.
How it works
- With established feeling or sensation い-adjectives, drop the final い and add がる: 怖い becomes 怖がる, and 寒い becomes 寒がる.
- The result is a godan verb. Use がっている for a reaction you can observe now; がる can describe a habitual reaction.
- With a verb such as 怖がる, mark what is feared with を: 犬を怖がる (be afraid of dogs).
Examples
子供は犬を怖がっています。
The child is showing fear of the dog.
弟は寒がっています。
My little brother is showing signs of feeling cold.
Notes
- Learn established combinations. がる is not a general way to turn every adjective into "looks…".
- Observing someone this way can sound judgmental. You can instead report their words or say how they seem.
- For a wish to do something, use 〜たがる: 遊びたがっている (wants to play). 怖がっている describes fear, not a wish.