〜ふりをする: To Pretend / Act As If
A pretense you stage on purpose
ふり (振り) is a noun meaning a "pretense" or "an appearance you put on." Bolt する onto it and 〜ふりをする means you act as though something is true when it isn't. What matters is the deliberate performance behind it: the subject knowingly fakes a state or an action, usually with a hint of deception or a wish to cover something up.
ヤッタンは先生に当てられて、知らないふりをした。
ヤッタンは せんせいに あてられて、しらない ふりを した。
Yattan was called on by the teacher and pretended not to know.
知らないふりをする = pretend not to know — a classic set phrase.
モチが呼んだのに、弟は聞こえないふりをしている。
モチが よんだのに、おとうとは きこえない ふりを している。
Even though Mochi called him, Yattan's little brother is pretending not to hear.
昼休み、ヤッタンは机で寝ているふりをしていた。
ひるやすみ、ヤッタンは つくえで ねている ふりを していた。
During the lunch break, Yattan was pretending to sleep at his desk.
寝ているふり = pretending to be (in the state of) sleeping.
Choosing の, な, or nothing before ふり
The single thing to get right is the connector, and it depends on the word type. Verbs and い-adjectives attach directly in their plain form, nouns need の, and な-adjectives keep their attributive な. Getting this wrong is the most common slip: 病気のふり (✓) never 病気ふり, and 元気なふり (✓) never 元気ふり or 元気のふり.
| Word type | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (plain) | Verb + ふりをする | 知らないふりをする (pretend not to know) |
| Verb (〜ている) | 〜ているふりをする | 寝ているふりをする (pretend to be sleeping) |
| い-adjective (plain) | い-adj + ふりをする | 痛いふりをする (pretend it hurts) |
| な-adjective | な-adj + な + ふりをする | 元気なふりをする (act as if cheerful) |
| Noun | Noun + の + ふりをする | 病気のふりをする (pretend to be sick) |
The する end conjugates like any other する verb — past ふりをした, negative ふりをしない, continuous ふりをしている — so all the tense work happens there, not on ふり.
モチは元気なふりをしているけど、本当は疲れているはずだ。
モチは げんきな ふりを しているけど、ほんとうは つかれている はずだ。
Mochi is acting cheerful, but she must really be tired.
な-adjective: 元気 + な + ふり.
弟は学校を休むために、病気のふりをした。
おとうとは がっこうを やすむ ために、びょうきの ふりを した。
Yattan's little brother pretended to be sick so he could skip school.
Noun: 病気 + の + ふり.
〜ふりをして: pretending, then acting
Put ふりをする into its て-form and you get 〜ふりをして ("while pretending to…"), which stages one false appearance so the subject can do something else under its cover. The pretense and the real action sit side by side in the same sentence:
先生は生徒の冗談に、気づかないふりをして笑った。
せんせいは せいとの じょうだんに、きづかない ふりを して わらった。
The teacher pretended not to notice the students' joke and smiled.
〜ふりをして = 'while pretending,' linking to the next action.
ヤッタンは本を読むふりをして、モチの話を聞いていた。
ヤッタンは ほんを よむ ふりを して、モチの はなしを きいて いた。
Yattan pretended to read a book while actually listening to Mochi's conversation.
Faking it vs. merely looking it
The trap isn't grammatical here — it's meaning. 〜ふりをする always describes a deliberate act of faking, where the subject knows the truth and stages the opposite. When you only want to say something looks or seems a certain way, with no one putting on an act, reach instead for 〜みたい or 〜ようだ. 知らないふりをする means "they know and are performing ignorance"; 知らないみたい just means "they seem not to know."
The essentials
- 〜ふりをする = pretend / act as if; a deliberate, often deceptive, put-on appearance.
- Verbs and い-adjectives attach in plain form; nouns take の; な-adjectives take な.
- ふり is a noun (振り = "pretense"); する conjugates normally (ふりをした, ふりをしている).
- 〜ふりをして = "while pretending to…," leading into another action.
Practice it
Choose the correct way to attach ふりをする to each word.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
知らない＿＿＿。
Frequently asked questions
What does 〜ふりをする mean?
It means to pretend or act as if. You deliberately fake a state or action: 知らないふりをする ('pretend not to know'), 寝ているふりをする ('pretend to be asleep'). It usually carries a hint of deception.
How do I attach ふりをする to different words?
Verbs and い-adjectives attach in plain form directly (知らないふり). Nouns take の (病気のふり). な-adjectives take な (元気なふり).
What is the difference between ふりをする and ようだ/みたい?
ふりをする is a deliberate act of pretending — you know it's false. ようだ and みたい simply describe how something appears or seems, with no implication that you're faking it.
What does 〜ふりをして mean?
It's the て-form: 'while pretending to…' It sets up a following action done under that false appearance, e.g. 本を読むふりをして ('pretending to read a book…').
Where 〜ふりをする fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- Conditional 〜たら · N4 — 〜たら is Japanese's most flexible conditional: just add ら to the plain past. Learn the formation, the 'if/when' meaning, the discovery use, and how it beats ば/と for requests.
Don't confuse it with
- 〜っぽい · N3 — 〜っぽい adds a '-ish/-like' nuance: 子供っぽい (childish), 忘れっぽい (forgetful), 安っぽい (looks cheap). Learn the noun and verb-stem patterns, the い-adjective conjugation, and the critical tone.
- 〜ようだ · N4 — 〜ようだ states a conjecture from your own evidence ('it seems') and, as 〜ように / 〜ような, draws comparisons ('like'). Learn the attachment rules and how it differs from みたい and らしい.
- 〜みたい · N4 — 〜みたい is the casual way to say something 'seems' or 'looks like.' Learn its two jobs — conjecture and likeness — plus the easy attachment rules and みたいに/みたいな.
More N3 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- ふと — ふと is an adverb meaning 'suddenly' or 'by chance' — a thought, glance, or realization arises unbidden. Learn ふと思い出す/見る/気づく and how it differs from 急に.
- 〜がち vs 〜ぎみ — 〜がち = a frequent tendency ('tends to,' often undesirable); 〜ぎみ = a slight degree right now ('a bit,' '-ish'). Learn the formation, the nuance, and how to keep them apart.
- 〜がたい — 〜がたい attaches to a verb stem to mean 'hard to' — really 'almost impossible to.' Learn the formation, the abstract/formal nuance, and how it differs from 〜にくい.
- 〜代わりに — 〜代わりに has two senses: 'instead of / in place of' (砂糖の代わりにはちみつ) and 'in exchange for / to make up for' a trade-off (給料は高い代わりに仕事がきつい).
- 決して〜ない — 決して + a negative means 'never' or 'by no means' — a strong, emphatic denial or firm resolve. Learn the formation, the obligatory negative, and how it differs from めったに and 全然.
- 〜きる — 〜きる attaches to a verb stem to mean do completely or finish entirely: 食べきる, 使いきる, 疲れきる. Learn the forms, the negative 〜きれない, and common mistakes.