need help to understand がる/ がっている


I learned about がる from two different native teachers and both explained it
differently. The first one said that がる is seemed/looks like someone wants
something

> 猫が欲しがってる  
>  The cat seems to want it
>
> 僕たちは何もかもを欲しがった  
>  We act like we wanted anything (and everything)

The other one said it is not "seems" it more like, "tendency to do X" and that
we don't have a similar concept in English.

> 父親はタバコをよく吸いたがった  
>  My father had the tendency to smoke a lot.

So I want to ask, which explain is the right one? Are they both right?

Thanks. Or




Reading OP's comment, I've got an impression that translating がる into "seems
to" is misleading after all. The point is not how s/he looks but what s/he
does.

To be honest, it's not easy for me to grasp がる comprehensively. So, let me
explain with some examples.

When you say 寒がる, what it essentially indicates is not how s/he looks but the
fact that s/he shivers with cold or so. You may be able to conclude that s/he
seems feeling a chill, but that's a secondary thing.

When it comes to 欲しがる, it means, in short, to try to get something. 猫が欲しがってる
essentially expresses how s/he is asking for something in somewhat way, which
is also a minor yet significant difference between 欲しいと思っている, which is exactly
to want.

When you use it for one's habit, you could translate it into "tendency" or
something.




Reading OP's comment, I've got an impression that translating がる into "seems
to" is misleading after all. The point is not how s/he looks but what s/he
does.

To be honest, it's not easy for me to grasp がる comprehensively. So, let me
explain with some examples.

When you say 寒がる, what it essentially indicates is not how s/he looks but the
fact that s/he shivers with cold or so. You may be able to conclude that s/he
seems feeling a chill, but that's a secondary thing.

When it comes to 欲しがる, it means, in short, to try to get something. 猫が欲しがってる
essentially expresses how s/he is asking for something in somewhat way, which
is also a minor yet significant difference between 欲しいと思っている, which is exactly
to want.

When you use it for one's habit, you could translate it into "tendency" or
something.

