Translation guide
How to express pretending not to know something in Japanese, from casual to formal situations.
Acting as if you are unaware of something, often to avoid responsibility or awkwardness.
The most common and neutral way to say 'pretend not to know'. Works in most situations.
He pretended not to know about it.
Please don't pretend you don't know.
A casual verb meaning to play dumb or feign ignorance, often with a nuance of acting innocent.
He played dumb and said he knew nothing.
Literally 'cut white', meaning to feign ignorance or act innocent, often when guilty. Slightly more emphatic than とぼける.
He feigned ignorance and insisted he didn't do it.
A colloquial variant of 知らないふりをする, often used in spoken Japanese. 知らん is a casual contraction of 知らない.
He pretended not to know me even when he saw me.
Acting as if you don't comprehend what is being said or asked, often to avoid answering.
Directly means 'pretend not to understand'. Natural and clear.
I pretended not to understand the question.
Also used for pretending not to understand, especially in casual contexts.
Politely indicating that you are not aware of something, sometimes as a strategy.
A very polite way to say 'pretend not to know', using humble language. Rare but possible in formal apologies or business.
I pretended not to be aware of that matter (humble).
知らないふりをする is the standard, neutral expression. とぼける is more casual and implies a playful or sly feigning of ignorance. 白を切る is stronger, often used when someone is clearly guilty but denies knowledge. Choose based on context and desired nuance.
He pretended not to know, but his face turned red.
Don't play dumb, tell me the truth.
He feigned ignorance, but gave up when shown the evidence.
Do not directly translate 'feign ignorance' as 無知を装う (muchi o yosōu). While grammatically possible, it sounds unnatural and overly literary. Stick to the phrases above.
She feigned ignorance when asked about the missing money.
Stop feigning ignorance! I know you took it.
彼はとぼけて、話をそらした。
He played dumb and changed the subject.