He instructed her in Chinese boxing, pretending that she was a male, and she spent five years of her childhood performing hard exercises, while Mui was playing with other girls.

instructed 是动词 instruct 的过去式，instruct 的意思是"指导、教授"，通常指正式的教导或训练。这个词来自拉丁语 instruere（建造、布置），引申为"传授知识或技能"。 pretending 是动词 pretend 的现在分词形式，pretend 的意思是"假装、装作"，由前缀 pre-（前）和拉丁词根 tendere（伸展）组成，字面意思是"提前展示"，引申为"伪装、假装"。