Are the Following Expressions Used in Spoken Language?

by Roy
(Taiwan)

I wonder:

If a non-native English speaker says, "play cute/adorable" or "act cute/adorable," can it be understood by a native English speaker?

For instance, "The teacher is talking to the toddlers with a childish voice. She is acting/playing cute again.'

Are these terms proper English?

Thank you for your help in advance.

Ola's answer:

Hi Roy,

One of the meanings of the verbs "act" and "play" is "to behave in a particular way."

So you could say:
- act strangely
- act properly
- act funny
- act kind of crazy
And so forth.

Or

- play fair
- play smart
- play it cool
- play it safe

"Play" also means "to pretend that you have a particular quality."

So you could also say:

- play innocent
- play dead
- play dumb

So, you could definitely say:
- act cute
- play it cute
- act all adorable
And so forth.