doué
/dwe/
The English word 'talented' can be translated into French as doué or talentueux.
Meaning: endowed with talents (adj)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| doué | /dwe/ /du.e/ |
| talentueux | /ta.lɑ̃.tɥø/ |
Both terms describe someone endowed with talents. If you want to say someone is talented at a specific activity using doué, use the preposition pour, such as doué pour la musique (talented at music).
Which one should you use?
doué often implies a natural, innate gift or being 'endowed' with a quality, whereas talentueux focuses more on the possession of talent itself.
How does it change in a sentence?
The forms change based on gender and number. For doué, the feminine singular is douée, the masculine plural is doués and the feminine plural is douées. For talentueux, the feminine singular is talentueuse and the feminine plural is talentueuses.
How do you pronounce it?
/dwe/
Did you know?
- While doué usually means 'talented', it can be used ironically in French to describe someone who has just made a clumsy or stupid mistake, similar to saying 'genius' in English.
- Calling someone doué can sometimes sound slightly patronizing in a professional French setting, as it emphasizes a 'gift' rather than professional competence.
- The word 'talent' in French, much like in English, carries a hidden biblical history, referring to a unit of weight or money in ancient times.
Examples in context
- Tom est très doué.Tom is very talented.This sentence shows how to use doué to describe a person's talent.Tatoeba #11148246 by Aiji, translation #1663305 by liwan1208
- Waouh ! Talentueux !Wow! Talented!This sentence uses talentueux as an exclamation of admiration.Tatoeba #7801746 by theachaean, translation #6587902 by Eccles17
- Tu es fort talentueux.You're very talented.This sentence uses talentueux to describe someone's high level of talent.Tatoeba #2226763 by sacredceltic, translation #2218501 by CK
- Lucas est un jeune pianiste talentueux.Lucas is a talented young pianist.
- Maria est douée en mathématiques.Maria is talented in mathematics.
- Julien est un écrivain doué.Julien is a talented writer.
- Elle est douée pour la danse classique.She is talented in classical dancing.
- Il est fort en informatique.He is talented in computer science.
- Elle est forte en peinture.She is talented in painting.
- C'est génial de voir à quel point il est doué en photographie.It's great to see how talented he is in photography.
- 52 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Nathan are talking about a musician they saw at a café.
- LéaCe musicien est vraiment doué.This musician is truly talented.
- NathanOui, il joue de la guitare magnifiquement.Yes, he plays the guitar magnificently.
- LéaTu trouves qu'il est doué ?Do you think he is talented?
- NathanAbsolument, c'est un grand artiste.Absolutely, he is a great artist.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “talented” translations and entries doué, talentueux, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries talentueux, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
