空惚そらとぼける

そ

ら

と

ぼ

け

る

Meanings

1

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

feign ignorance; play dumb

Describes the act of pretending not to know something, often in a playful or evasive manner.

彼かれは知しっているくせに、空惚そらとぼけて何なにも答こたえなかった。
Even though he knew, he played dumb and didn't answer anything.
母はは

に

いたずら

が

ばれ

た

けど

、

空惚そらとぼ

け

て

み

た

。

My mom caught me playing a prank, but I tried to feign ignorance.

Written forms

空惚そらとぼけるUsage36%
Standard kanji spelling.
空そらとぼけるUsage36%
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; common in everyday writing.
そらとぼけるUsage27%
Kana spelling; often used when the kanji 惚 is considered difficult or when a lighter tone is desired.

Kanji

空empty, sky, void
惚fall in love with, admire, grow senile

Similar words

とぼける
とぼける also means 'to play dumb' but is more general; 空惚ける emphasizes the deliberate act of feigning ignorance, often with a nuance of pretending not to notice something obvious.
しらばくれる
しらばくれる is a stronger, more colloquial term for feigning ignorance, often with a negative connotation of blatantly denying knowledge.

Etymology

Compound of 空 (そら, 'empty, pretended') + 惚ける (とぼける, 'to play dumb, to be senile'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination conveys the idea of 'pretending to be out of it'.