Не притворяйся, что не слышишь.

Притворяйся is the informal singular imperative of притворяться, which means to pretend or to act as if.

The -ся here is not a separate word meaning yourself. It is part of the verb itself. In other words, the dictionary form is притворяться, not just притворять.

So:

• притворяться = to pretend
• притворяйся = pretend / be pretending

In this sentence, with не, it means don’t pretend.

This is mainly about aspect.

• притворяться is imperfective
• притвориться is perfective

With negative commands in Russian, the imperfective is very common when you mean:

• don’t do that
• stop doing that
• don’t behave that way

So Не притворяйся sounds natural for Don’t pretend.

A perfective form like не притворись would sound much less natural here. It would suggest something more like don’t end up pretending or a one-time completed act, which does not fit this situation well.

So the short answer is: Russian normally uses the imperfective here because it is a prohibition about ongoing behavior.

Because слышать and слушать are different verbs.

• слышать = to hear
• слушать = to listen

In this sentence, the idea is that the person can hear but is acting like they cannot or do not. That is why Russian uses не слышишь.

So:

• Не притворяйся, что не слышишь. = Don’t pretend you can’t hear / don’t pretend you don’t hear.
• Не притворяйся, что не слушаешь. would mean something closer to Don’t pretend you’re not listening, which is a slightly different idea.

English sometimes blurs hear and listen, but Russian usually keeps them separate more clearly.

Because the sentence is talking about the situation right now.

что не слышишь literally means that you do not hear or that you can’t hear.

Russian uses the present tense here because the speaker is accusing the other person of pretending, at this moment, not to hear what is being said.

Natural English translations could be:

• Don’t pretend you don’t hear.
• Don’t pretend you can’t hear.
• Don’t act like you can’t hear me.

So the present tense in Russian is exactly what you would expect.

Because что introduces a subordinate clause.

The sentence has two parts:

• Не притворяйся = Don’t pretend
• что не слышишь = that you don’t hear

Russian normally puts a comma before что when it introduces a clause like this.

So the comma is not optional here in standard writing.

Russian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are obvious from the verb form.

Here both verbs show second person singular informal:

• притворяйся = you pretend / pretend!
• слышишь = you hear

So ты is not necessary.

If you add ты, it gives extra emphasis:

• Ты не притворяйся, что не слышишь.

That can sound more pointed or emotional, as if the speaker is stressing you in particular.

Not in the English sense of two negatives making a positive.

Each не belongs to a different verb:

• Не притворяйся = Don’t pretend
• что не слышишь = that you don’t hear

So the meaning is:

• Don’t pretend
• that you don’t hear

They do not cancel each other out.

Also, Russian is generally much more comfortable with multiple negatives than English is. But in this sentence, the two negatives are easy to explain because they are attached to two different actions.

The polite/plural version is:

Не притворяйтесь, что не слышите.

Changes:

• притворяйся → притворяйтесь
• слышишь → слышите

This form can mean either:

• speaking to more than one person, or
• speaking to one person formally/politely

So:

• Не притворяйся, что не слышишь. = informal singular
• Не притворяйтесь, что не слышите. = formal singular or plural

It sounds direct and a bit accusatory.

The speaker believes the other person really does hear, but is deliberately acting otherwise. So the tone is something like:

• Stop acting like you can’t hear
• Don’t play dumb
• Don’t pretend you don’t hear me

It is not vulgar, but it is not especially gentle either. You would usually say this when you are annoyed, impatient, or confronting someone.

The stress is:

Не притворя́йся, что не слы́шишь.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Не = often sounds closer to ni in fast speech
• притворя́йся = pri-tva-RYAI-sya
• что = usually pronounced more like shto
• слы́шишь = SLY-shish

So a rough overall guide would be:

ni pritvaryáysya, shto ni slýshish

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• что is very often pronounced што
• the stress in притворя́йся is on -яй-
• the stress in слы́шишь is on the first syllable

A little, yes, but the original order is the most natural and neutral:

Не притворяйся, что не слышишь.

Russian word order is flexible, but not random. If you change it, you usually change the emphasis.

For example, you might hear:

• Не притворяйся, что ты не слышишь.

Adding ты gives emphasis to you.

But the basic sentence as given is the most standard way to say it. For a learner, this is the version to remember.