How to say "pretend" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 偽るいつわるgodan verb, transitive verb, intransitive verbCovers pretend in the sense of deliberate deception: feigning something or passing oneself off as what one is not, with a strong flavor of lying or falsifying facts.
- suffix, godan verbCovers pretend as "act as if": it describes someone's outward behavior — behaving as though something were the case — rather than calculated deception.
- 装うよそおうgodan verb, transitive verbCovers pretend through outward appearance: feigning or affecting an attitude or feeling, or disguising oneself as something, with the emphasis on the front one presents to others.
- 決め込むきめこむgodan verb, transitive verbCovers pretend in the sense of posing as or fancying oneself to be a certain kind of person; feigning ignorance is a typical use, often with a nuance of casting oneself in the role.
Use 「偽る」 for deliberate deception, lying, or falsifying; 「がる」 for outwardly acting as if something were the case; 「装う」 for feigned appearances or disguise; and 「決め込む」 for posing as or fancying oneself to be something.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
- 偽るいつわるto lie
- 見せかけるみせかけるto pretend
- 事寄せることよせるto pretend
- 振りをするふりをするto pretend
- 衒うてらうto show off
- うわべを飾るうわべをかざるto put on airs
- がるto behave as if one were
- 演ずるえんずるto commit (a blunder)
- 装うよそおうto pretend
- 決め込むきめこむto pretend (to be)
- 称するしょうするto purport (to be)
- 格好をつけるかっこうをつけるto put up a front
- なんちゃってersatz
- 称すしょうすto purport (to be)
- 演じるえんじるto pretend (e.g. to be a good father)
See also
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