N1 Appearance, Manner, and Resemblance

~ぶる: meaning, usage and examples

~ぶる means: to pretend to be... / to act like...

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 彼かれはいつも偉えらぶった態度たいどを取とる。

   He always acts self-important.

2. 彼女かのじょは、いつも上品じょうひんぶっているが、実じつはそうでもない。

   She always acts elegant, but she's not really like that.

3. 田中たなかさんは学者がくしゃぶって、難むずかしい言葉ことばばかり使つかう。

   Mr. Tanaka acts like a scholar and uses nothing but difficult words.

4. もったいぶらないで、早はやく結果けっかを教おしえてよ。

   Stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me the result.

When to use it

Says that someone acts as if they have a quality they do not really have, or shows it off: 学者がくしゃぶる (act the scholar), 偉えらぶる (act important), 上品じょうひんぶる (put on airs). Example: 偉えらぶった態度たいど, a self-important attitude. Fixed verbs like もったいぶる (make a big deal of something) come from it.

Nuance

Critical, a little scornful. Used about other people's behavior, seldom about yourself. Conversation and writing alike. It works with a fairly fixed set of words; do not attach it to any noun freely.

Compare

ふりをする is neutral pretending, with any verb: 寝ねたふりをする (pretend to sleep). ぶる is showing off a quality, and judges it: 学者がくしゃぶる. っぽい only describes what something seems like, with no pretense: 子供こどもっぽい (childish). ぶる = acting it; っぽい = looking it.

Tip: Learn the common set: 偉えらぶる, 上品じょうひんぶる, 学者がくしゃぶる, 先輩せんぱいぶる, いい子こぶる, もったいぶる. Outside these, ふりをする is the safer choice.