Deliberately Acting a Part
ふりをする means putting on an appearance you know to be false.
- 寝たふりをした。(I pretended to be asleep.)
The pretence is always conscious. For something that merely looks a certain way, use ようだ or そう.
Attaching It
| Type | Form |
|---|---|
| Verb | 知らないふりをする |
| い-adjective | 忙しいふりをする |
| な-adjective | 元気なふりをする |
| Noun | 病気のふりをする |
知らないふり and 見て見ぬふり
Two set phrases worth knowing as units:
- 知らないふりをする — to play dumb
- 見て見ぬふりをする — to turn a blind eye
The second is idiomatic and appears constantly in discussions of responsibility.
ふり as a Standalone Noun
It behaves as an ordinary noun, so it takes modifiers and particles freely: そんなふりはやめて (stop putting on that act).