〜ぶる buru

〜ぶる（buru）means “to put on airs of; to pretend to be; to act like”. Attaches to a noun or adjective stem to mean someone deliberately acts or pretends to have a certain quality, usually with a critical, mocking tone ('only acting that way, not really so'). Formation: Aい（語幹）／Aな（語幹）／N ＋ぶる

to put on airs of; to pretend to be; to act like

N2

Formation

Aい（語幹）／Aな（語幹）／N ＋ぶる

Explanation

Attaches to a noun or adjective stem to mean someone deliberately acts or pretends to have a certain quality, usually with a critical, mocking tone ('only acting that way, not really so').

Examples

彼はいつもえらぶっていて、人の話を聞かない。
かれはいつもえらぶっていて、ひとのはなしをきかない。
He's always acting high and mighty and won't listen to others.
彼女は子どもなのに、いつも大人ぶっている。
かのじょはこどもなのに、いつもおとなぶっている。
Even though she's a child, she's always acting like a grown-up.

Note

Often negative/sarcastic. Fixed forms: 偉ぶる (act important), 上品ぶる (act refined), 知ったかぶる (act knowing), 大人ぶる (act grown-up).

FAQ

〜ぶる — what does it mean and how is it used?

to put on airs of; to pretend to be; to act like. Attaches to a noun or adjective stem to mean someone deliberately acts or pretends to have a certain quality, usually with a critical, mocking tone ('only acting that way, not really so').

〜ぶる — how do you form it?

Aい（語幹）／Aな（語幹）／N ＋ぶる

〜ぶる — any usage notes?

Often negative/sarcastic. Fixed forms: 偉ぶる (act important), 上品ぶる (act refined), 知ったかぶる (act knowing), 大人ぶる (act grown-up).

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