fazer de conta

You conjugate the verb fazer normally.

The rest of the phrase stays the same.

You usually follow it with que (that).

For example: Eu faço de conta que sou rico.

(I pretend that I am rich.)

In the past: Ela fez de conta que não me viu.

(She pretended she didn't see me.)

It works for all people and tenses.

You can also use it as a noun.

A faz-de-conta is a fairy tale or fantasy.

Just remember the de is mandatory here.

Without it, fazer conta means doing math.

And trust me, math is much less fun.

Kids are the masters of this phrase.

They fazem de conta they are dragons or chefs.

But adults do it every single day too.

Think about your boss on a Zoom call.

You faz de conta that his joke was funny.

(We have all been there, right?)

Or when you are on a bad first date.

You faz de conta that you have an emergency.

"Oh no, my goldfish is drowning!"

It is the ultimate social survival tool.

It helps avoid conflict and saves face.

In Brazil, social harmony is very important.

This phrase helps keep things smooth and easy.

Use it when you are playing with children.

Use it when someone is telling a boring story.

You faz de conta that you are listening.

Use it for sarcasm among your close friends.

"Faz de conta que eu acredito em você."

(Pretend that I believe you.)

It is perfect for movies and theater talk.

Actors fazem de conta for a living.

Use it when you want to ignore something.

Like that "Check Engine" light on your car.

If you faz de conta it isn't there, maybe it goes away.

(Disclaimer: This does not actually work for cars.)

Do not use it in serious legal settings.

If a judge asks you something, do not pretend.

In a contract, use the word simular instead.

Avoid it when you want to be very direct.

If you are truly lying to hurt someone, use mentir.

Fazer de conta is usually more innocent.

It has a playful or harmless connotation.

Don't use it if you're talking about math.

As mentioned, fazer conta is for your taxes.

Mixing them up will lead to a very weird conversation.

"I'm pretending my taxes!" sounds like a crime.

This is the biggest mistake for English speakers.

Pretender in Portuguese means "to intend."

It is a classic false friend that ruins lives.

Never forget the de in the middle.

Without it, you're calculating how much you didn't hear.

Another mistake is using fingir for everything.

Fingir is fine, but it is more serious.

Fazer de conta is more colloquial and warm.

It sounds more like a natural native speaker.

The most common synonym is fingir.

Fingir means to feign or to pretend.

It is a bit shorter and more formal.

You also have the expression dar uma de.

For example: Ele deu uma de entendido.

(He acted like he knew everything.)

Then there is passar por.

Ele tentou se passar por médico.

(He tried to pass himself off as a doctor.)

Iludir-se is when you pretend to yourself.

We call that "living in a bubble" sometimes.

But fazer de conta remains the king of playfulness.

The noun form is mundo de faz-de-conta.

This refers to a dream world or fantasy land.

You might hear faz de conta que sim.

This is a quick way to say "just say yes."

Or "let's just go along with it."

Sometimes people say faz de conta on its own.

It acts as an interjection meaning "Yeah, right!"

In Portugal, they use it just like in Brazil.

There are no major regional differences for this.

It is a universal Portuguese language gem.

Is it formal or informal?

It is mostly neutral to informal.

You can use it with friends or family.

Can I use it in a professional email?

Only if you have a very close relationship.

Otherwise, use fingir or something more specific.

Does it always need the word que?

Usually, yes, if a verb follows it.

If it's just a command, you can say Faz de conta!

Is it the same as "imagine"?

It's close, but fazer de conta is more about acting.

"Imagine" is more about the internal thought process.

If you act it out, it's fazer de conta.