Learning a new language often feels like navigating a maze of false friends and nuanced verbs, and few words trip up English speakers quite like "pretend." If you have ever tried to say "I was just pretending" in a Spanish conversation and received a confused look, you have likely fallen into the fingir vs. So pretender trap. Understanding how do you say pretend in Spanish requires more than a simple dictionary lookup; it demands a grasp of context, intent, and the subtle differences between fingir, simular, hacer como que, and the notorious false cognate pretender. This guide breaks down every scenario so you can express deception, imagination, and false appearances like a native speaker.
The Golden Rule: Pretender Does Not Mean "To Pretend"
Before diving into the correct verbs, we must address the elephant in the room. The single most common error learners make is assuming pretender translates to "to pretend." It does not.
Pretender means to intend, to try, to aspire to, or to court/woo someone.
- Pretendo aprender español este año. (I intend/plan to learn Spanish this year.)
- Él la pretende desde hace meses. (He has been courting/wooing her for months.)
If you say Yo pretendo dormir thinking you are saying "I pretend to sleep," you are actually saying "I intend to sleep." Keep this distinction sharp; it is the foundation for mastering this vocabulary.
The Standard Translation: Fingir
When you want to express the act of feigning a feeling, an illness, an action, or a state of being, fingir is your go-to verb. It is the most direct equivalent to "to pretend" in the sense of putting on a false appearance.
Conjugation Note
Fingir is a stem-changing verb (e → i) in the present indicative and subjunctive for certain pronouns (e.g., yo finjo, tú finges, él finge, nosotros fingimos, ellos fingen) That's the whole idea..
Common Usages of Fingir
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Feigning Emotions or Physical States
- No te fingas dormido, sé que me oíste. (Don't pretend to be asleep; I know you heard me.)
- Ella fingió sorpresa al ver la fiesta. (She feigned/pretended surprise upon seeing the party.)
- El niño finge estar enfermo para no ir a la escuela. (The boy pretends to be sick to avoid school.)
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Pretending an Action is Happening (Followed by Infinitive) When "pretend" is followed by a verb in English ("pretend to eat," "pretend to listen"), Spanish uses fingir + infinitive.
- Dejó de fingir que leía y me miró. (He stopped pretending to read and looked at me.)
- Finjo no entender para evitar el conflicto. (I pretend not to understand to avoid conflict.)
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The Reflexive Fingirse (Pretending to Be Someone/Something) To say someone is pretending to be a specific persona or role, use the reflexive fingirse + noun/adjective (usually without the article for professions/roles).
- *Se *hace el tonto / Se finge tonto. (He pretends to be dumb / He plays dumb.)
- Le gusta fingirse detective. (He likes to pretend to be a detective.)
The "Look-Alike" Verb: Simular
Simular is a close synonym to fingir but carries a slightly more formal, technical, or calculated tone. It implies creating a simulation or a model of something. Think "to simulate" or "to fake" in a deliberate, sometimes legal or medical, context Small thing, real impact. Still holds up..
- El piloto simuló un aterrizaje de emergencia en el simulador. (The pilot simulated an emergency landing in the simulator.)
- El delito de simular un accidente es grave. (The crime of staging/faking an accident is serious.)
- No simules indiferencia; me importas. (Don't fake indifference; you matter to me.)
Nuance Check: Use fingir for everyday social acting (feigning a smile, pretending to sleep). Use simular for technical replications (flight simulators), legal fraud (simulating a contract), or when the "faking" feels more structural than emotional Surprisingly effective..
The Idiomatic Powerhouse: Hacer Como Que…
If you want to sound instantly more natural in spoken Spanish, master the phrase hacer como que (literally: "to make like that..."). This is the colloquial standard for "to pretend to do something" or "to act as if.
Structure: Hacer como que + [Indicative or Subjunctive Verb]
- Indicative: Used when the action looks real or the subject wants it to look real.
- Hizo como que leía el periódico. (He pretended to read the newspaper / He made like he was reading.)
- Subjunctive: Often used when the pretense is clearly hypothetical, doubtful, or the speaker is distancing themselves from the reality.
- Hace como que no supiera nada. (He acts as if he didn't know anything.)
Variations: Hacerse el/la...
A very common subset of this structure uses a noun or adjective to describe the role being adopted Worth keeping that in mind..
- Se hace el loco. (He pretends to be crazy / He plays the fool.)
- No te hagas la víctima. (Don't play the victim.)
- Siempre se hace el sueco cuando hay que pagar. (He always pretends not to understand / plays dumb when it's time to pay. Literal: makes himself the Swede.)
"Make Believe" and Children’s Play: Jugar a… and Hacer de Cuenta
When the context shifts from deception to imagination—children playing house, actors in a role, or hypothetical scenarios—the vocabulary shifts again.
Jugar a (To Play At)
This is the standard for children's games.
- Los niños juegan a ser médicos. (The children pretend to be / play doctors.)
- Mi hija juega a que su muñeca llora. (My daughter pretends her doll is crying.)
Hacer de Cuenta (To Make Believe / Let's Say)
This phrase functions like "let's pretend" or "let's assume." It is often used to set up a hypothetical scenario.
- Hagamos de cuenta que nunca pasó. (Let's pretend / make believe it never happened.)
- Hace de cuenta que yo no estoy aquí. ( Pretend / Act as if I’m not here.)
"Pretending" in the Past: Hacerse el/la vs. Fingir vs. Simular
Choosing the right past tense (Preterite vs. Imperfect) adds another layer of meaning.
