Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 9: 14/22

振(ふ)りをするTo pretend, To act as if

Structure

Verb［ている］(1) + ふりをする
［い］Adjective + ふりをする
［な］Adjective + な + ふりをする
Noun + の + ふりをする

(1) Verb［ない］、Verb［た］

Details

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About ふりをする

ふりをする is an expression in Japanese that is used to show that someone is 'pretending to be (A)', 'putting on airs of (A)', or 'acting as if (A)'. This construction comes from a combination of the noun 振(ふ)り 'a shake', the adverbial particle を, and する. It can be thought of as meaning 'to give off the impression of (A)', or 'to shake off the impression of (A)'.

As ふり itself is a noun, this expression may be used with the attributive form of any other word.

Fun Fact

The noun 振(ふ)り has several different nuances in Japanese, with only one of them being used in this particular expression. That meaning is 'to show a certain behavior pattern on the outside'. Due to this, ふり doesn't specifically mean 'to pretend', just that what is happening on the outside may be different to what is happening within a person (either mentally or physically).

Related

Examples

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    泣(な)いた振(ふ)りをしたって無駄(むだ)ですよ。

    When you pretended to cry, it was useless.

    私(わたし)の犬(いぬ)は寝(ね)た振(ふ)りをすることがある。

    There are times when my dog pretends to sleep.

    子供(こども)は、注意(ちゅうい)された時(とき)に、聞(き)こえない振(ふ)りをした。

    The child pretended not to hear while she was being scolded.

    病気(びょうき)の振(ふ)りをして会社(かいしゃ)を休(やす)んだ。

    Pretending to be sick, I took the day off work.

    見(み)て見(み)ない振(ふ)りをするのは良(よ)くない。

    It's not good to pretend to turn a blind eye to something.

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      ふりをする – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (9 in total)

      • mrnoone

        mrnoone

        English translation:
        to pretend
        to act as if

        Structure:
        Verb[た] + ふりをする
        Verb[ている] + ふりをする
        Verb[ない] + ふりをする

        い-Adj + ふりをする
        Noun・の + ふりをする
        な-Adj・な + ふりをする

        Notes on conjugations

        ふりをする is a tricky grammar point when it comes to conjugations as both the verb that comes before it and する can be conjugated. It really boils down to what the speaker wishes to emphasize, but there are a few quirky things in Japanese that make this a tad confusing.

        泣いたふりをしたって無駄ですよ。

        If we use the above sentence as an example and change the conjugation around, we will get multiple nuances. 泣いたフリ - literally means “to pretend to have cried,” but it is a much more common expression meaning “to pretend to cry.” You can use 泣く here, but it removes any sense of having ...

      • alarswilson

        alarswilson

        Why is the verb often in the past tense in the past when the sense is hypthetical?
        熊くまに遭遇そうぐうした時とき、死しんだ ふりをして もあまり意味いみがないと聞きいた。
        I have heard that when you encounter a bear, even if you pretend to be dead, it won’t make much difference.

      • matt_in_mito

        matt_in_mito

        Hi
        This isn’t past tense, it’s た form. As I’m sure you know, た doesn’t always indicate past tense. From what I can remember about conjugating verbs with ふり, unless you’re talking in the present tense or the negative tense, it should always conjugate with た.
        ～たふり
        ～ているふり
        ～ないふり

      • Daru

        Daru

        One of the links is outdated
        The Native grammar breakdown one.

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        @Daru Thank you for letting us know! I have updated the link. Cheers!

      • Daru

        Daru

        Thanks for the fast answer as always!

      • Aythreuk

        Aythreuk

        If this is true, I must say that I don’t feel like it’s reflected on the Bunpro grammar page for it.

      • Pushindawood

        Pushindawood

        @Aythreuk I have updated both the Verb[た] grammar point page and this page with the information that @matt_in_mito provided. I have also updated the Structure for this grammar point. Cheers!

      • simias

        simias

        I still don’t find any information it this grammar point about the difference between 〜た and 〜ている unless I missed something.

        I just got “When you pretended to cry, it was useless.” in a review, the default answer and the audio recording give “泣いたふりをしたって無駄ですよ”, however “泣いているふりをした…” is accepted as an alternative answer.

        Given that the past tense is carried by する here I’m still unsure what the nuance between the two is, if any.

        Is it simply “when you pretended to cry” vs. “when you were pretending to cry”?

      • Dwrlesky

        Dwrlesky

        I struggle a lot with the different ways to conjugate that grammar point, probably because I don’t understand the difference in english either.

        What is the difference between saying:

        分()かっている ふりをしていた が and 分()かっている ふりをした が?

        Is it like saying this in english?

        I was pretending that I knew what was going on, but I didn’t understand anything.
        I pretended that I knew what was going on, but I didn’t understand anything.

        Assuming the second sentence is correct I don’t really see a difference in meaning.

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