素知らぬ

• 読み: そしらぬ
• ローマ字: soshiranu
• 漢字の分解: 素 (so/moto) — plain, bare, utterly; 知 (shi/chi) — know, knowledge
• 発音: /so.ɕi.ɾa.nɯ/

意味

Feigning ignorance; pretending not to know; acting as if completely unaware. Used to describe a deliberately false show of innocence.

A prenominal expression (used before nouns only, not predicatively) that describes the act of deliberately pretending not to know something. It almost always appears in fixed phrases 素知らぬ顔 (acting innocent; wearing a feigned look of innocence) and 素知らぬふり (feigning ignorance). The prefix 素 adds the nuance of 'utterly/completely,' making it more emphatic than simply 知らないふり. Common in literary prose and formal narration; somewhat elevated in everyday speech.

例文

1. 全てを知っているはずなのに、彼は素知らぬ顔で挨拶してきた。
2. 部下のミスを見て見ぬふりし、素知らぬふりを通す上司に誰もが呆れた。
3. 証拠を突きつけられてもなお素知らぬ態度を崩さないのは相当な胆力だ。

使い方ガイド

場面: deception, interpersonal relations, literature, workplace

トーン: negative

起源と歴史

Compound of 素 (so, plain/bare/completely) and 知らぬ (shiranu, the classical negative of 知る, to know). The 素 prefix is an intensifier meaning 'completely,' making the expression signify 'acting as if one knows absolutely nothing.' The classical negative ぬ (rather than modern ない) gives the phrase a literary register.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal