Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
たい directly states the speaker's own desire, so 私は行きたい is natural but 彼は行きたい sounds like you can read his mind. For third parties you must use たがる (the がる form of たい), which reports an observed want: 彼は行きたがっている. The split is about whose desire it is—first person takes たい, third person takes たがる.
- たい Use たい when talking about your own desire or asking the listener directly what they want.
- がる Use がる when describing how someone else visibly feels or acts based on an emotion you can observe.
たい tai
Want to
Want (to do something); would like (to do something) | An auxiliary adjective which expresses a desire to do something.
-
三木さんは車を買いたがっている。
Mr. Miki wants to buy a car.
-
今日は何を・が食べたいですか。
What do you want to eat today?
がる garu
Show signs of (3rd-person feeling)
Show signs of ~ | An auxiliary verb attached to a psychological/physiological adjective meaning a person other than the speaker shows signs of ~
-
スーザンは一人で淋しがっています。
Susan feels lonely by herself.
-
一男はスポーツカーを欲しがった・がりました。
Kazuo showed signs of wanting a sports car.
たい and がる are JLPT N5–N4 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.