is たがる here correct?


> 誰かゲームを遊びたがっている?

i thought this たがる is for making assumptions, therefore i find weird that
someone would say "does somebody seem like wanting to play..."? or am i wrong?
is it correct?, if yes, can i also say 誰かゲームを遊びたい? if yes, which one is more
natural? if both are unnatural, how would you rewrite it, for it to be
natural?




I think the relevant point here is _who is being asked_ this question.

If you are asking somebody directly if they themselves want to do something,
then using 〜たい is fine, because you are asking for them to tell you themselves
what their own desires are.

However, if you are asking a third person if somebody else wants to do
something, they are not really qualified to speak (authoritatively) on behalf
of somebody else's feelings or desires. All they can do is tell you whether it
_seems to them_ like that person wants to do it or not. That is what 〜がる
indicates, so in that case, you would ask the question using 〜たがる instead of
〜たい.

So「誰かゲームを遊びたがっている？」sounds to me like something somebody would be asking
someone about some other people ("Do _any of them_ (seem like they) want to
play a game?"). On the other hand,「誰かゲームを遊びたい？」would be something you might
ask a group of people directly ("Do _any of you_ want to play a game?")




I think the relevant point here is _who is being asked_ this question.

If you are asking somebody directly if they themselves want to do something,
then using 〜たい is fine, because you are asking for them to tell you themselves
what their own desires are.

However, if you are asking a third person if somebody else wants to do
something, they are not really qualified to speak (authoritatively) on behalf
of somebody else's feelings or desires. All they can do is tell you whether it
_seems to them_ like that person wants to do it or not. That is what 〜がる
indicates, so in that case, you would ask the question using 〜たがる instead of
〜たい.

So「誰かゲームを遊びたがっている？」sounds to me like something somebody would be asking
someone about some other people ("Do _any of them_ (seem like they) want to
play a game?"). On the other hand,「誰かゲームを遊びたい？」would be something you might
ask a group of people directly ("Do _any of you_ want to play a game?")

