Translation guide
How to express the act of deliberately ignoring something or someone by pretending not to see them, in Japanese.
To describe the act of consciously ignoring someone or something by acting as if you haven't seen them.
He noticed me but pretended not to see me.
It's not good to pretend not to see someone collapsed on the street.
Literally 'to treat as if one didn't see'. Implies a conscious decision to ignore what was seen, often to avoid involvement or responsibility.
Let's pretend we didn't see his mistake.
Means 'to feign ignorance' or 'to pretend not to know/see'. Often used when someone deliberately ignores another person's presence or a situation.
Even though my neighbor greeted me, I ended up pretending not to notice.
A slightly more literary or formal expression meaning 'to put on an innocent face' or 'to act as if one knows nothing'. Similar to 知らんぷり but more refined.
He acted as if he knew nothing about his own mistake.
Specifically avoiding eye contact to pretend you haven't seen someone, often in social situations.
To deliberately ignore something wrong or illegal, often out of convenience or complicity.
Means 'to overlook', 'to turn a blind eye', or 'to let pass'. Often used when someone in authority deliberately ignores a fault.
The boss turned a blind eye to his tardiness.
Literally 'to look with big eyes', meaning 'to tolerate' or 'to overlook' something generously. Implies leniency rather than strict pretending.
Formal term meaning 'to tacitly permit' or 'to connive at'. Used for officially ignoring illegal or improper acts.
見て見ぬふりをする emphasizes the act of pretending not to see in the moment, while 見なかったことにする focuses on the decision to treat the event as if it never happened. The latter is often used when you want to consciously erase something from memory or avoid dealing with it.
I pretended not to see his rude behavior at the time, but later I warned him.
I treated his rude behavior as if I hadn't seen it and continued the conversation.
Avoid directly translating 'pretending not to see' as 見ないふりをする. While understandable, it is less natural than the established phrases above. Use 見て見ぬふりをする or 見なかったことにする instead.
As soon as our eyes met, he quickly looked away.
I'll let it slide just this once.
The government tacitly condoned the corruption.