Skip to content

naïf

naive

adjective nah-EEF Rare

Origin: Latin nativus (native, natural)

Also means

innocent

Usage Note

naïf retains its diaeresis to signal that the two vowels are pronounced separately; the feminine form is naïve. In art, peinture naïve (naive art) is a recognized style of untrained but expressive painting.

Examples

"Elle est trop naïve pour comprendre."

Natural Translation

She is too naive to understand.

Explore French by topic