How do you pronounce the word "naïve"?

English hardly ever uses accent marks, but every now and then you'll come across a word like "naïve" that keeps one. Those two dots over the "i" aren't just decoration. They tell you how to say the word.

What does "naïve" mean?

Someone who is naïve trusts people too easily or doesn't have much experience of the world, so they expect things to be simpler or fairer than they are.

• It was naïve of me to think he'd pay me back.
• Don't be so naïve. Nobody gives away a free holiday.
• That's a pretty naïve way of looking at it.
• She was a bit naïve when she first moved to the city.

Why does "naïve" have two dots?

If you speak German, those dots probably look like an umlaut. They aren't one, though.

In English, they're called a diaeresis, and they don't change the sound of the vowel. They tell you to say the "a" and the "i" separately, instead of blending them into one sound like in "wait" or "rain."

The word comes from French, where marks like this are more common. A few other words in English used to have a diaeresis too, like "Noël" or the old spelling "coöperate," but most have dropped it over time. In fact, you'll now see "naive" without the dots far more often, and both spellings are correct.

How to say "naïve"

"Naïve" has two syllables, with the stress on the second one: nah-EEV. The first part sounds like "nah," and the second rhymes with "leave." In American English, you'll also hear nye-EEV, where the first part sounds like "eye." Both are correct.

What you don't want is to say it as one syllable, so it rhymes with "wave" or "five." Remember the two dots, and you'll keep the sounds apart.

"Naïve" isn't the only word with unexpected pronunciation. Want to learn more? Check out Daily Dose of Denglisch Docs!