In this article you will learn how to say pretend in Spanish. Let’s begin by discussing Amigos Falsos (false friends) in the Spanish language. In case you don’t know what an “amigo falso” is let me tell you. The phrase “amigos falsos” is used to describe Spanish words that sound similar to English words, yet have entirely different meanings.
Here’s one that often tricks native English speakers. What do you think the Spanish word “pretender” means?
No, “pretender” does NOT mean “to pretend.”
The Spanish verb “pretender” means to aspire or to try to obtain something. And the Spanish word “fingir” means the English phrase “to pretend.” Here’s an example using “pretender”:
Mis estudiantes siempre pretenden obtener calificaciones altas, por eso estudian mucho.
(My students always aspire to obtain good grades, and for that reason they study a lot.)
Here’s a sentence using “fingir”…
No finjas que duermes, yo sé que estás despierto.
Don’t pretend you’re sleeping. I know you are awake.
DISCLAIMER: I own several Spanish or Spanish-English “diccionarios.” Only one of my “diccionarios” is from the U.S. And that one says that “pretender” can also mean the English phrase “to pretend.”
But in my Spanish and Spanish-English dictionaries from Colombia none of them have the meaning “to pretend” (or the equivalent) for the word “pretender.” And I have never heard “pretender” used to mean “to pretend” here in Colombia.
My guess is that that my Spanish-English “diccionario” that I bought in the States has also been “infiltrado” by American English.