ふりをするPretend to; act as if
ふりをする says that someone deliberately behaves as though something were true even though the reality is different. It can describe harmless play, hiding one's feelings, evasion, or deliberate deception.
The appearance must conflict with reality
The part before ふり describes the appearance that the person deliberately presents. The context should make the real situation clear: the person knows but acts ignorant, is awake but acts asleep, feels nervous but acts calm, or adopts an identity that is not actually theirs.
彼は答えを知っていたのに、知らないふりをした。
Although he knew the answer, he pretended not to know.
AnalyzeNegative forms are especially common
A negative clause often expresses concealed knowledge or perception. Common patterns mean pretending not to know, see, hear, notice, or understand something.
店員のミスに気づいたが、彼女は見て見ぬふりをした。
She noticed the clerk's mistake but deliberately looked the other way.
Analyze見て見ぬふりをする is a fixed expression meaning to see something but act as though one did not.
States and identities
With a na-adjective, add な; with a noun, add の.
Conjugating the ending
Conjugate the final する normally. For example, the polite form is ふりをします, the past form is ふりをした, and ふりをして connects the pretense to a following action.
Choosing among similar forms
ふりをする explicitly marks a knowingly false display. By contrast, たつもりで adopts an imagined assumption in order to act genuinely; ぶる attaches compactly to a quality or status and often criticizes affected behavior; and appearance そうだ reports how something looks to an observer without saying that anyone intends to mislead.
More examples
本当は起きていたが、子どもを驚かせるために寝たふりをした。
I was actually awake, but I pretended to be asleep so I could surprise the child.
Analyze彼は説明を聞いていなかったのに、分かったふりをしてうなずいた。
Although he had not listened to the explanation, he nodded as if he understood.
Analyze妹はプレゼントに気づいていたが、知らないふりをしてくれた。
My younger sister had noticed the present, but she kindly pretended not to know about it.
Analyze怖かったけれど、子どもの前では怖くないふりをした。
I was scared, but in front of the children I pretended not to be.
Analyze彼は社員ではないのに、社員のふりをして建物に入ろうとした。
Although he was not an employee, he tried to enter the building by pretending to be one.
Analyze宿題をしていないのに、終わったふりをして遊びに行った。
Despite not having done the homework, they pretended to have finished and went out to play.
Analyze