“〜nai furi・furi wo suru”: To Pretend Not to 〜 / Pretend to 〜 [JLPT N1]

Content by NTJ Kuma · Nihongo to Japan editorial team · Updated July 27, 2026

「気づいても見ないふりをした」 — putting on an act that runs counter to the truth.

「気づいても、見ないふりをした」 — knowing full well, yet pretending not to

To depict “knowing yet pretending not to notice,” 「彼は私に気づいても、見ないふりをした」 (even though he noticed me, he pretended not to see) — 「〜ないふり・〜ふりをする」 = pretend not to ～, act as if ～ (knowing yet feigning ignorance), used to express “behaving as if…, when it's actually not so.” This guide covers attachment (the verb／na-adj／noun traps), colloquial omission, and separating it from 「ぶる (put on airs).」

Core: it's actually A, yet one acts as if it isn't A

「(verb ない-form／na-adj な／noun の) ＋ ふりをする」 means “pretend ～, act as if ～ (when it's not actually so)” — 「ふり」 is “pretense, putting on a show,” and 「ふりをする」 is “behave as if… (but it's not really)”:

• 上司のミスに気づいたが、気づかなかったふりをした (I noticed my boss's mistake, but pretended I hadn't).
• 聞こえないふりをして、その場を離れた (pretending not to hear, I left the spot).
• 元気なふりをしているが、本当は辛い (I put on a cheerful front, but really it's hard).

Feel: the core is “putting on an appearance that doesn't match the facts.” It pairs most often with a negative: 見ないふり (pretend not to see), 知らないふり (pretend not to know), 聞こえないふり (pretend not to hear). The idiom 「見て見ぬふり」 = turn a blind eye. It corresponds to “pretend not to ～, act as if ～, feign ～.”

Attachment rules

See it in context

• 都合の悪いことは、いつも聞こえないふりをする。(Inconvenient things, he always pretends not to hear.)
• 彼は何も知らないふりをしていたが、実は全部知っていた。(He pretended to know nothing, but actually knew it all.)
• 寝たふりをして、話を全部聞いていた。(Pretending to be asleep, I heard the whole conversation.)
• 困っている人を見て見ぬふりはできない。(I can't turn a blind eye to someone in trouble.)
• 平気なふりをしていたが、内心は動揺していた。(I put on an unbothered front, but inside I was shaken.)

⚠️ Where learners slip up

① The core is ‘put on an appearance that doesn't match the facts,' most often with a negative. 「〜ふりをする」's core is “(knowing／actually it's A, yet) behaving as if… (not A)” — i.e. “pretend, feign (when it's not actually so).” It pairs most often with a negative, for “pretend ‘not' to ～”: 見ないふり (pretend not to see), 知らないふり (pretend not to know), 聞こえないふり (pretend not to hear), 気づかなかったふり (pretend not to have noticed). It can also take an affirmative (寝たふり = pretend to sleep, 元気なふり = pretend to be well). It often carries the “(knowing yet) deliberately playing dumb, dodging” flavor. It corresponds to “pretend not to ～, act as if ～, feign ～.” Test: to say “(knowing yet) act as if ～, behave as if ～ (but it's not)” → ふりをする.

② Attachment trap: verbs attach directly (no の／な), na-adj ＋ な, noun ＋ の. This is the most error-prone attachment. A verb (ない-form／た-form／dictionary form) attaches directly to 「ふり,」 with no の／な after: ✗ 見ないのふり／✗ 見ないなふり → ✓ 見ないふり (directly). A na-adjective uses 「な ＋ ふり」: 元気なふり (○) / ✗ 元気のふり. A noun uses 「の ＋ ふり」: 病気のふり (○) / ✗ 病気なふり. Mnemonic: verb ＋ ふり (direct)／na-adj ＋ な ＋ ふり／noun ＋ の ＋ ふり.

③ Division of labor with 「ぶる (put on airs)／ように見せる (create an impression).」 These all relate to “pretending, putting on a show,” but differ in feel. 「〜ふりをする」 = pretend ～ (knowing yet feigning, behaving as if… but not): 知らないふりをする (pretend not to know — actually knows). 「〜ぶる」 = put on the airs of ～, give oneself the airs of ～ (pejorative, affected): 偉ぶる (put on airs, act big), 知ったかぶり (pretend to know), 上品ぶる (put on refinement) — it carries the “(off-puttingly) putting on airs, showing off” pejorative. 「〜ように見せる」 = make it (look) like ～ (deliberately create an impression): 忙しいように見せる (make oneself look busy). Difference: 「ふりをする」 = (knowing yet) pretend ～; 「ぶる」 = (self-importantly) put on the airs of ～ (pejorative); 「ように見せる」 = deliberately create the impression of ～. Test: to say “(knowing yet) act as if ～” → ふりをする; to say “(off-puttingly) put on ～'s airs, show off” → ぶる; to say “deliberately make it look like ～” → ように見せる. (Colloquially the 「を」 is often dropped, said as 「〜ふりする」: 知らんふりすんなよ = don't pretend you don't know.)

🔄 Compare with similar forms: ふりをする／ぶる／ように見せる／つもりだ

💡 How to remember this

「〜ないふり・〜ふりをする」 = pretend not to ～, act as if ～ (knowing yet feigning ignorance) — three points: ① the core is “put on an appearance that doesn't match the facts,” most often with a negative (見ないふり／知らないふり); ② attachment — verbs attach directly (no の／な), na-adj ＋ な ＋ ふり, noun ＋ の ＋ ふり; ③ division of labor with 「ぶる (put on airs, pejorative)／ように見せる (create an impression).」 This pattern vividly depicts “knowing yet playing dumb, dodging” — 「見て見ぬふり (turn a blind eye)」 「聞こえないふり (pretend not to hear)」 are super-common social realities. To say “(knowing yet) act as if ～,” 「〜ふりをする」 is spot-on (colloquially the 「を」 is often dropped: 「〜ふりする」).

❓ Common questions

Q: Which is right, 「知らないふりをする」 or 「知らないぶりをする」?

「知らないふりをする」 is right; 「知らないぶり」 is wrong (no such phrasing) — this is where 「ふり」 and 「ぶる」 are most confused. 「〜ふりをする」 = pretend ～ (behave as if… but not, knowing yet feigning): 「ふり (振り)」 is “pretense, putting on a show,” attaching to a verb／na-adj／noun for “act as if ～”: 知らないふりをする (pretend not to know — actually knows), 見ないふりをする (pretend not to see), 寝たふりをする (pretend to sleep). It's “(knowing yet) act as if in some state.” 「〜ぶる」 = put on ～'s airs, give oneself airs (pejorative, a verb suffix, not 「ぶりをする」): 「ぶる」 is a verb suffix on a noun／na-adj (for “put on the airs of ～”), and you don't say 「ぶりをする」: 偉ぶる (put on airs, act big), 上品ぶる (put on refinement), 大人ぶる (act grown-up), いい子ぶる (act like a good kid). It's the pejorative “(off-puttingly) give oneself airs, put on ～.” Difference: 「ふりをする」 = pretend (some state, knowing yet feigning, neutral); 「ぶる」 = put on ～'s airs, give oneself airs (pejorative, a verb suffix). Note the form: 「ふり」 is 「〜ふりをする」 (見ないふりをする); 「ぶる」 is used directly as a verb 「〜ぶる」 (偉ぶる), not 「ぶりをする」. There's also a noun 「知ったかぶり (pretending to know)」 which is the noun form of 「ぶる」 (知ったかぶりをする is also fine), but that's a fixed word. Test: to say “(knowing yet) pretend not to ～／act as if ～” → 〜ふりをする (知らないふりをする); to say “(off-puttingly) put on ～'s airs, give oneself airs” → 〜ぶる (偉ぶる). So “pretend not to know” is 「知らないふりをする,」 not 「知らないぶり.」

Q: Which is right, 「元気なふり」 or 「元気のふり」? How do I attach to nouns and na-adjectives?

「元気なふり」 is right, 「元気のふり」 is wrong — this is where 「ふり」's attachment most often slips. The attachment differs by what precedes 「ふり」: ① na-adjective → 「な」 ＋ ふり: na-adjectives (元気・平気・上手・静か) take 「な」 then ふり: 元気なふり (○ pretend to be well), 平気なふり (○ pretend to be fine). ✗ 元気のふり (の is wrong). ② noun → 「の」 ＋ ふり: nouns (病気・子供・他人) take 「の」 then ふり: 病気のふり (○ pretend to be sick), 他人のふり (○ pretend to be a stranger). ✗ 病気なふり (な is wrong). ③ verb → directly (no の／な): verbs (ない-form／た-form／dictionary form) attach directly to ふり with nothing added: 見ないふり (○), 寝たふり (○), 知ってるふり (○). ✗ 見ないのふり／✗ 見ないなふり (adding の／な after a verb is wrong). So the rule is: na-adj ＋ な ＋ ふり／noun ＋ の ＋ ふり／verb ＋ (directly) ふり. Test trick: check what precedes 「ふり」 — na-adj → add な (元気なふり), noun → add の (病気のふり), verb → attach directly (見ないふり). The commonest errors are using 「の」 with 「元気」 (a na-adj, ✗元気のふり) or 「な」 with 「病気」 (a noun, ✗病気なふり) — remember “na-adj takes な, noun takes の” and you won't slip.

🖊️ Practice Questions (5)

Q1. 「彼は私に気づいても、___ふりをした。」(pretended not to see)

(A) 見ない　(B) 見たい　(C) 見よう　(D) 見るな

Q2. 「見て見ぬふり」の意味は?

(A) Turning a blind eye (pretending not to see)

(B) Looking carefully

(C) Can't see

(D) Want to see

Q3. 「知らないふりをする」の意味は?

(A) Pretend not to know (while actually knowing)

(B) Really doesn't know

(C) Want to know

(D) Must know

Q4. 「ふりをする」の意味は?

(A) Pretend to ~ / act as if ~ (when it's actually not so)

(B) Strive to accomplish

(C) Express a wish

(D) Express a command

Q5. 接法が正しいのは?

(A) 元気なふりをする。　(B) 元気のふりをする(な形は な)。

(C) 病気なふりをする(名詞は の)。　(D) 知るふりをする(否定が自然)。

Answer Explanations

1. (A) 見ない ── pretend not to see (見ないふり).

2. (A) ── turning a blind eye.

3. (A) ── pretend not to know (while actually knowing).

4. (A) ── pretend to ~ / act as if ~.

5. (A) ── な形容詞 uses 「元気なふり」; nouns use 「病気のふり」.