Russian Translation(s) & Details for 'feign'

English Word: feign

Key Russian Translations:

• притворяться [prʲɪtˈvorʲɪt͡sə] - [Informal, often used in everyday contexts]
• симулировать [sʲɪmʊˈlʲirəvətʲ] - [Formal, especially in medical or professional settings]
• изображать [ɪzˈobrɑʒətʲ] - [Neutral, when implying acting or portraying]

Frequency: Medium (commonly encountered in literature, conversations, and media, but not as frequent as basic verbs)

Difficulty: B1 (Intermediate, per CEFR; involves understanding reflexive verbs and conjugations. For 'симулировать', it may be B2 due to its formal nature.)

Pronunciation (Russian):

притворяться: [prʲɪtˈvorʲɪt͡sə]

Note on притворяться: This is a reflexive verb; the stress falls on the second syllable ('vor'). Be mindful of the soft sign (ь) affecting pronunciation.

симулировать: [sʲɪmʊˈlʲirəvətʲ]

Note on симулировать: Pronunciation can vary slightly in fast speech; the 'и' is often softened.

изображать: [ɪzˈobrɑʒətʲ]

Note on изображать: The 'ж' sound is a voiced fricative, similar to 'zh' in 'measure'.

Audio: []

Meanings and Usage:

Meaning 1: To pretend to have or feel something, often to deceive.

Translation(s) & Context:

• притворяться - Used in informal, everyday situations, such as feigning illness to avoid work.
• симулировать - Applied in formal contexts, like feigning symptoms in a medical scenario.
• изображать - Neutral for acting out emotions, e.g., in theater or storytelling.

Usage Examples:

• Он притворяется больным, чтобы не идти на работу.

  He is feigning illness to avoid going to work.

• Дети иногда симулируют страх, чтобы получить внимание родителей.

  Children sometimes feign fear to get their parents' attention.

• Актер изображает героя, притворяясь смелым в опасной ситуации.

  The actor is feigning bravery while portraying a hero in a dangerous situation.

• Она симулирует интерес к разговору, хотя на самом деле ей скучно.

  She is feigning interest in the conversation, even though she's actually bored.

Meaning 2: To simulate or fake an action or state.

Translation(s) & Context:

• симулировать - Common in technical or scientific contexts, such as feigning a process in experiments.
• притворяться - Informal for everyday faking, like feigning sleep.

Usage Examples:

• В эксперименте ученые симулируют землетрясение для тестов.

  In the experiment, scientists are feigning an earthquake for testing purposes.

• Он притворяется спящим, когда мама заходит в комнату.

  He is feigning sleep when his mom enters the room.

• Чтобы избежать встречи, она симулирует занятость на телефоне.

  To avoid the meeting, she is feigning busyness on her phone.

• Актеры часто изображают боль, притворяясь в сценах драмы.

  Actors often feign pain while portraying scenes in drama.

Russian Forms/Inflections:

These translations are primarily verbs, with 'притворяться' being a reflexive verb (imperfective aspect), 'симулировать' as a transitive verb, and 'изображать' as a transitive verb. Russian verbs conjugate based on tense, aspect, person, and number. Below is a table for 'притворяться' as an example; others follow similar patterns but are non-reflexive.

For 'симулировать' and 'изображать', they are regular verbs with imperfective aspects and follow standard conjugation rules without the reflexive particle.

Russian Synonyms/Antonyms:

• Synonyms: изображать (more neutral, for acting); симулировать (formal, for simulation); подделывать (to forge or counterfeit, with a nuance of falsification)
• Antonyms: быть искренним (to be sincere); раскрывать (to reveal)

Related Phrases:

• Притворяться спящим - Feigning sleep; Used to describe pretending to be asleep, often in humorous or deceptive contexts.
• Симулировать интерес - Feigning interest; Common in social situations to maintain politeness.
• Изображать героя - Feigning heroism; Refers to acting brave or heroic, as in stories or performances.

Usage Notes:

In Russian, 'притворяться' is the most direct equivalent to 'feign' in informal settings and always requires the reflexive particle '-ся'. Choose 'симулировать' for formal or technical contexts to match the precise connotation. Be aware of aspect differences: 'притворяться' is imperfective (ongoing action), while perfective forms like 'притвориться' indicate completion. English users should note that Russian verbs often require agreement in gender, number, and case, which can affect sentence structure.

• When translating 'feign' in emotional contexts, 'притворяться' is preferred over 'симулировать' to avoid sounding overly clinical.
• In dialogues, these verbs can imply cultural nuances of deception, which are common in Russian literature.

Common Errors:

English learners often omit the reflexive particle in 'притворяться', using 'притворять' instead, which is incorrect and means something else entirely (e.g., to pretend in a non-reflexive sense, but it's not standard). Correct usage: Incorrect: "Он притворяет больным." Correct: "Он притворяется больным." Explanation: Russian reflexive verbs must include '-ся' to indicate the action reflects back on the subject. Another error is overusing 'симулировать' in casual speech, which can sound unnatural; opt for 'притворяться' in everyday contexts.

Cultural Notes:

In Russian culture, themes of feigning or deception are prevalent in literature (e.g., in works by Chekhov or Dostoevsky), often symbolizing deeper societal issues like insincerity or survival tactics. For instance, feigning emotions can reflect the historical context of maintaining facades during turbulent times, helping English users appreciate the subtle emotional layers in Russian communication.

Related Concepts:

• обманывать (to deceive)
• лгать (to lie)
• маскироваться (to disguise)