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JLPT N4 · Compound verbs & suffixes

がり (gari)

~がり — a person who easily feels ~

In short · がり is a suffix attached to the stem of an adjective to make a noun meaning ‘a person who tends to feel ~’. 寒がり means someone who easily feels cold. It describes a person's tendency or character.
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Pattern

  • 形容詞の語幹+がり adjective stem + がり (寒い → 寒がり, 暑い → 暑がり)
  • な形容詞の語幹+がり na-adjective stem + がり (怖い・さびしがり)

Connection

Drop い from an い-adjective and add がり: 寒い → 寒がり, 暑い → 暑がり, 恥ずかしい → 恥ずかしがり (shy), 怖い → 怖がり (easily scared). A few な-adjectives also work, like さびしがり.

What it describes

It names a type of person by their usual tendency: 妹は寒がりです (my sister feels the cold easily). It is a noun, so it can take です, の and other particles.

Relation to ~がる

がり comes from the verb ~がる (to show signs of feeling ~), which is used to describe other people's feelings: 寒がっている. The noun がり turns that into a trait.

Examples

  • 妹(いもうと)は寒(さむ)がりです。

    Imōto wa samugari desu.

    My sister is sensitive to the cold.

    寒い → 寒 + がり.

  • 父(ちち)は暑(あつ)がりで、冬(ふゆ)でも窓(まど)を開(あ)ける。

    Chichi wa atsugari de, fuyu demo mado o akeru.

    My father tends to feel hot easily, and opens the window even in winter.

    暑がりで links to the next clause.

  • その子(こ)は恥(は)ずかしがりで、あまり話(はな)さない。

    Sono ko wa hazukashigari de, amari hanasanai.

    That child is shy and doesn't talk much.

    恥ずかしい → 恥ずかし + がり.

Common mistakes

  • Drop い before がり: 寒がり, not 寒いがり.
  • がり describes a general tendency of a person, not a feeling at this moment. For the moment, use ~がる (寒がっている).

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