naïf
/na.if/
The English phrase "naive" is translated into French as naïf.
The term describes someone who lacks experience, wisdom or judgement.
Meaning: lacking experience, wisdom, or judgement (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective changes based on the gender and number of the person being described. The masculine singular is naïf, the feminine singular is naïve, the masculine plural is naïfs and the feminine plural is naïves.
How do you pronounce it?
/na.if/
When do people say it?
In French, the term Bisounours can be used to refer to someone who is overly optimistic and naive.
Did you know?
- If you want to call someone's optimism dangerously unrealistic, you might call them a Bisounours. This refers to the 'Care Bears', a brand of colorful, overly sweet characters.
- In the world of art, the term art naïf refers to a specific genre of painting characterized by a childlike simplicity and lack of formal training. It is a professional stylistic label rather than a criticism of the artist's intelligence.
- The spelling of naïf uses a 'tréma' over the 'i', which are two dots that tell you to pronounce the 'a' and the 'i' as two separate syllables. Without them, the 'ai' might be pronounced as a single sound like in 'air'.
Examples in context
- Tu es si naïf.You're so naive.The first example shows how to use naïf to describe someone's character.Tatoeba #7797098 by Aiji, translation #2218385 by CK
- Que naïf j'étais !How naive I was!The second example illustrates how to use naïf when reflecting on one's past state.Tatoeba #1379273 by sacredceltic, translation #13429083 by sundown
- Ne sois pas naïf !Don't be naive.The third example demonstrates how to use naïf in an imperative sentence.Tatoeba #1869510 by sacredceltic, translation #1866436 by Spamster
- Marie est une personne très candide. Elle croit toujours en la bonté des autres.Marie is a very naive person. She always believes in the goodness of others.
- Mon ami est vraiment naïf, il croit tout ce qu'on lui dit.My friend is really naive, he believes everything he is told.
- Arrête d'être un bisounours ! Ouvre les yeux sur la réalité !Stop being a "bisounours"! Open your eyes to reality!
- Jacques est parfois un peu crédule et se fait avoir facilement.Jacques is sometimes a bit naive and gets easily fooled.
- 47 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Lucas are discussing a person who believed a scam.
- ChloéIl est vraiment trop naïf.He is truly too naive.
- LucasOui, il a cru tout ce qu'on lui disait.Yes, he believed everything people told him.
- ChloéC'est un garçon très naïf.He is a very naive boy.
- LucasIl doit apprendre à se méfier.He needs to learn to be wary.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “naive” translations and entries naïf, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
