Grammar Info
N2 Lesson 7: 8/21

と言(い)う風(ふう)に
as if to say, as if to suggest that, in such a way that, things like

Structure
Verb + という ふうに + Phrase
(Topic)(Method) + というふうに + Phrase
Details
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使用域 一般
Information
Like ふうに, the grammar point indicating that something is being done ‘in the way of (A)’, というふうに uses the same suffix of 風(ふう) ‘wind’, ‘air’, to express that something is being done ‘as if to say (A)’, ‘as if to suggest (A)’, or ‘in such a way that (A)’.
As this construction is just a combination of という ‘to say’, and ふうに ‘in a manner’, the literal meaning of this expression is similar to ‘in a way that would say that (A)’. This simply highlights the speaker's uncertainty about what the actual situation is, and that they are only commenting on appearances.
というふうに may be seen directly after verbs, or after nouns expressing the way in which something is being done. The (B) portion of these phrases will then indicate exactly what is being done ‘in a way as if to say (A)’.
  • 彼女(かのじょ)は昼(ひる)休憩(きゅうけい)に帰(かえ)るというふうに聞(き)いています。
    I heard something as if to suggest that she is going to go home during lunch break.
  • 鈴木(すずき)さんはこの試験(しけん)に命(いのち)がかかっているというふうに勉強(べんきょう)をした。
    Suzuki-san studied as if to suggest that his life depended on this exam.
  • 私(わたし)は今(いま)まで自分(じぶん)が一番(いちばん)仕事(しごと)ができる人(ひと)だというふうに思(おも)っていた。
    Until recently, I always thought in such a way as to suggest that I was the most capable person when it comes to work.
  • 彼(かれ)はデザイン、僕(ぼく)はプログラミング、というふうに役割(やくわり)を分(わ)けてアプリを開発(かいはつ)することにした。
    We decided to develop the application by dividing the roles in the following way: he would do the design and I would do the programming.
Caution - Because という often quotes the entire statement before it, it will be important to remember this when figuring out exactly what というふうに is emphasizing.
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刑事(けいじ):「武(たけ)さんその事故(じこ)のことを知(し)っていたという風(ふう)に私(わたし)を見(み)ていた。」
Detective: He looked at me as if to suggest that he knew some circumstances of that accident.
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彼女(かのじょ)は命(いのち)がかかってるという風(ふう)に走(はし)っていた。
She was running in a way that suggested her life depended on it.
[as if her life depended on it]
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秘書(ひしょ)が仕事(しごと)を辞(や)めるという風(ふう)に聞(き)いていた。
I heard something as if to suggest that the secretary decided to quit.
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Books
A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar
Page 478