GRAMMAR DETAIL

～たがる

appear to want to

Attaches to a verb stem to express another person's wish or inclination as observed by the speaker.

Examples

犬は散歩に出たがっている。

The dog wants to go out for a walk.

弟は週末に新しい映画を見たがっています。

My younger brother wants to see the new movie this weekend.

娘は自分で靴を履きたがっています。

My daughter wants to put on her shoes by herself.

Structure: A verb's ます stem takes たがる to describe an observed wish in another person or an animal.
Basic usage: 犬は散歩に出たがっている。 describes the dog showing a desire to go out.

A directly expressed wish and an observation
- 外へ出たい directly expresses one's own wish, while 外へ出たがっている presents an observed inclination to go outside. The viewpoint used to present another's inner state matters.
Verbal inflection
- Inflect it as in 見たがる → 見たがっている to describe a currently apparent wish. 見たがらない negates showing a desire to see it.