ナイーブ

also: ナイーヴ

ナ

イ

ー

ブ

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

na-adjective, noun

naive; innocent; unpretentious

Describes a person or attitude that is innocent, straightforward, and sometimes overly trusting or lacking worldly experience. Can carry a slightly positive or negative nuance depending on context.

from English naive

彼かの

女じょ

は

とても

ナイーブ

で

、

人ひと

の

言い

う

こと

を

すぐ

信しん

じ

て

しまう

。

She is very naive and quickly believes what people say.

彼かれのナイーブな考かんがえ方かたには驚おどろかされる。

I'm surprised by his naive way of thinking.

Usage patterns

ナイーブな〈人ひと〉a naive/sensitive person
彼かれはナイーブな青せい年ねんで、人ひとの言こと葉ばをすぐに信しんじてしまう。
He's a naive young man who quickly believes what others say.
〈人ひと〉はナイーブすぎるsomeone is overly naive/sensitive
彼かの女じょはナイーブすぎて、少すこしの批ひ判はんでも深ふかく傷きずつく。
She's so sensitive that even mild criticism deeply hurts her.
ナイーブな性せい格かくa naive/sensitive personality
彼かれはナイーブな性せい格かくなので、失しつ恋れんを乗のり越こえるのに時じ間かんがかかった。
ナイーブに〈動どう詞し〉to do something naively/innocently
彼かれはその話はなしをナイーブに信しんじてしまった。
He naively believed the story.

Related words

純じゅん粋すいN2
純粋 praises someone as genuinely pure-hearted, while ナイーブ can carry a hint that the person is naive or easily hurt because of their innocence.
素す直なおN3
素直 highlights an obedient, straightforward attitude, whereas ナイーブ focuses on emotional vulnerability or lack of worldly experience.
無む邪じゃ気きN2
無邪気 describes childlike innocence without malice, while ナイーブ often implies that this innocence makes the person easily deceived or emotionally fragile.
産うぶ
うぶ specifically describes inexperience in romantic or worldly matters, whereas ナイーブ is broader and can also mean emotionally sensitive.
世せ間けん知しらずN2
世間知らず bluntly calls someone ignorant of how the world works, while ナイーブ is milder and can even sound sympathetic or endearing.

Opposites

狡こう猾かつ
狡猾 describes someone cunning and calculating, the opposite of a ナイーブ person who is trusting and unguarded.

Don't confuse with

ネイティブ
ナイーブ (naive, innocent) sounds similar to ネイティブ (native) but means something completely different, so learners often mix up the two loanwords.
素そ朴ぼくN2
ナイーブ (naive) often carries a negative sense of being gullible or emotionally unguarded, while 素朴 more neutrally describes plainness or unaffected simplicity.

Written forms

ナイーブUsage79%
Standard katakana spelling for the loanword from English 'naive'.
ナイーヴUsage21%
Alternate katakana spelling; less common but seen in some sources.

Etymology

Loanword from English 'naive', borrowed into Japanese with the same core meaning of innocence and lack of worldly experience.

Because of his sensitive nature, it took him a long time to get over the breakup.