A2 Idiom 비격식체

fare il vago

to play dumb

Phrase in 30 Seconds

To 'fare il vago' means to act as if you don't know something to avoid answering or taking responsibility.

  • Means: Pretending ignorance or indifference to dodge a question or duty.
  • Used in: Awkward social situations, avoiding chores, or dodging difficult questions.
  • Don't confuse: It is not the same as being 'vague' (vago) in speech; it is a deliberate act.
Shrugging shoulders + blank stare = 'fare il vago'

Explanation at your level:

This phrase means to pretend you don't know something. You use it when someone is hiding the truth.
When someone acts like they don't understand a question to avoid answering, you say they are 'fare il vago'. It is a common way to describe someone who is being dishonest about their knowledge.
The idiom 'fare il vago' is used to describe a person who intentionally feigns ignorance or indifference. It is a strategic way to dodge responsibility or uncomfortable questions in social or professional interactions.
In Italian, 'fare il vago' serves as a colloquial descriptor for performative ignorance. It is employed when an interlocutor suspects that the other party is deliberately obfuscating the truth to circumvent accountability or social pressure.
The expression 'fare il vago' functions as a pragmatic marker of social evasion. It encapsulates the act of feigning cognitive detachment from a subject matter to mitigate the burden of disclosure or to navigate interpersonal friction without direct confrontation.
Syntactically, 'fare il vago' utilizes the verb 'fare' to denote the enactment of a specific behavioral state. Semantically, it functions as a performative idiom where the subject adopts a persona of 'vagueness' to obfuscate their epistemic state. This is a quintessential example of Italian social pragmatics, where the appearance of indifference is leveraged as a defensive mechanism against social or moral scrutiny.

뜻

Pretending not to know something.

🌍

문화적 배경

Italians often use body language (shrugging) alongside this phrase.

💡

Use it with a smile

It sounds less aggressive if you say it with a playful tone.

뜻

Pretending not to know something.

💡

Use it with a smile

It sounds less aggressive if you say it with a playful tone.

셀프 테스트

Complete the sentence.

Quando gli ho chiesto perché è arrivato tardi, ha fatto ____.

✓ 정답! ✗ 아쉬워요. 정답: il vago

The idiom is 'fare il vago'.

🎉 점수: /1

자주 묻는 질문

1 질문

Yes, 'fare la vaga' is becoming common, though 'fare il vago' is still the standard idiom.

관련 표현

🔄

Fare lo gnorri

synonym

To play dumb

어디서 쓸까?

💸

The Unpaid Debt

Friend: Hai i 20 euro che ti ho prestato?

You: Ah, non fare il vago, li rivoglio!

informal

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Think of a 'vague' person who is wandering away from the truth.

Visual Association

Imagine someone looking at the ceiling and whistling when you ask them a hard question.

Rhyme

Non fare il vago, non essere un mago.

Story

Marco broke the vase. When his mom asked who did it, he looked at the window and started talking about the weather. His mom sighed and said, 'Marco, smettila di fare il vago!'

Word Web

ignorareevitarefintabugiarispostadomandaatteggiamento

챌린지

Next time someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, jokingly say 'Non voglio fare il vago, ma...' and then explain why you can't answer.

In Other Languages

Spanish high

Hacerse el tonto

Spanish focuses on 'looking like a fool', Italian focuses on 'being vague'.

French high

Faire l'ignorant

French is more explicit about the 'ignorance' part.

German moderate

Sich dumm stellen

German is more direct about the 'stupidity' aspect.

Japanese moderate

知らんぷりをする (Shiranpuri o suru)

Japanese emphasizes the visual aspect of the deception.

Arabic moderate

يتجاهل (Yatajahal)

Arabic is often more formal than the Italian idiom.

Chinese high

装傻 (Zhuāng shǎ)

Chinese is very concise.

Korean high

모르는 척하다 (Moreuneun cheok-hada)

Korean is very standard and used in all registers.

Portuguese high

Fazer-se de bobo

Focuses on the 'fool' aspect rather than 'vagueness'.

Easily Confused

fare il vago 대 Essere vago

Learners think it means 'to play dumb'.

Essere vago means to be unclear in your speech.

자주 묻는 질문 (1)

Yes, 'fare la vaga' is becoming common, though 'fare il vago' is still the standard idiom.

도움이 되었나요?

댓글 (0)

로그인하여 댓글 달기
아직 댓글이 없습니다. 첫 번째로 생각을 공유하세요!