rêveur
/ʁɛ.vœʁ/masculine
The English phrase 'dreamer' is translated into French as rêveur.
The term refers to one who dreams. It can function as both a noun, meaning 'a dreamer' and an adjective, meaning 'dreamy' or 'dreaming'.
Meaning: one who dreams (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine singular form is rêveur. To refer to a female dreamer, use the feminine form rêveuse. For a group of masculine or mixed-gender dreamers, the plural is rêveurs, while the feminine plural form is rêveuses.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʁɛ.vœʁ/
When do people say it?
To say someone is a 'dreamer at heart', you can use the informal expression rêveur/se dans l'âme. Another informal way to describe someone who is acting like a dreamer is the idiom avoir la tête dans les nuages, which literally means 'to have your head in the clouds'.
Did you know?
- While rêveur means 'dreamer', the French word for 'nightmare' is cauchemar, which shares no linguistic root with the word for 'dream'.
- The English word 'reverie', meaning a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts, is a direct loanword from the French rêverie.
- While 'to have one's head in the clouds' is a common idiom, a French person might also say you are dans la lune, which means 'in the moon'.
Examples in context
- Tu es un rêveur.You're a dreamer.Tatoeba #7555081 by Aiji, translation #2045341 by CK
- Tom est un rêveur.Tom is a dreamer.Tatoeba #6195375 by Sorgan, translation #4667231 by CK
- Ce n'est qu'un rêveur.He's just a dreamer.Tatoeba #131895 by Archibald, translation #5236414 by AlanF_US
- Elle est une femme rêveuse qui voit la beauté dans le monde.She is a dreamer who sees beauty in the world.
- Elle est rêveuse dans l'âme , toujours perdue dans ses pensées.She is a dreamer at heart, always lost in her thoughts.
- 24 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Nathan are discussing a new art project.
- ChloéTu es un vrai rêveur, Nathan.You are a true dreamer, Nathan.
- NathanOui, j'ai beaucoup d'idées.Yes, I have many ideas.
- ChloéMais ce rêveur doit rester réaliste.But this dreamer must stay realistic.
- NathanJe vais essayer.I will try.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dreamer” translations and entries rêveur, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
