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French Expression
| Meaning | to pretend | |
| Literally | to make seeming | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[fehr sa(n) bl(a)] |
| IPA | [fɛʀ sã blã] | |
Usage notes: The French phrase faire semblant means "to pretend":
Par exemple…
| Les enfants adore faire semblant. | Kids love pretending. | |
| Il n’est pas vraiment fâché, il fait semblant. | He’s not really angry, he’s pretending. |
Variation: jouer à faire semblant – to pretend, to play make-believe
Faire semblant is often followed by de + infinitive:
Par exemple…
| Les enfants font semblant de cuisiner. | The kids are pretending to cook. | |
| Il fait semblant d’être fâché. | He’s pretending to be angry. |
The French verb prétendre is a faux ami: it means “to claim (to be)” not “to pretend.”
Related lessons
- Faire conjugations
- Semblant is the present participle of sembler (to seem)
- De (preposition)
- Infinitives
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