Aujourd'hui, présenter toute Antillaise comme une doudou est offensant.
Today, presenting every Antillean woman as this stereotype is offensive.
Le collectionneur conserve un doudou du dix-huitième siècle.
The collector keeps an eighteenth-century doudou coin.
Bonne nuit, ma doudou.
Good night, my darling.
Le musée explique comment la figure de la doudou a servi la publicité coloniale.
The museum explains how the stereotyped figure served colonial advertising.
Les marchands utilisaient le doudou dans plusieurs villes de l'Orient.
Merchants used the doudou coin in several eastern cities.
Similar words
nounours
chérie
bien-aimé
chéri
amour
bien-aimée
objet transitionnel
peluche
nin-nin
Meanings
Child's comfort object
noun
childhood
informal
A soft toy, blanket, or piece of cloth chosen by a young child for comfort, called feminine in Canadian French when it means a blanket.
Examples
L'enfant ne dort jamais sans son doudou.
The child never sleeps without his comfort object.
Elle a perdu son doudou dans le train.
She lost her lovey on the train.
Ce vieux morceau de tissu est son doudou préféré.
This old piece of cloth is his favourite comfort object.
À la crèche, chaque doudou porte une étiquette.
At the nursery, every comfort object has a label.
Au Québec, sa couverture préférée peut être appelée une doudou.
In Quebec, a favourite blanket may be called a security blanket.
Similar words
objet transitionnel
peluche
nounours
nin-nin
Affectionate name for a loved person
noun
relationships
informal
In Antillean and some African French, an affectionate name for a woman or partner, and more rarely a man, carrying warmth but requiring familiarity.
Examples
Il est venu à la fête avec sa doudou.
He came to the party with his sweetheart.
Bonne nuit, ma doudou.
Good night, my darling.
Elle appelle tendrement son compagnon doudou.
She affectionately calls her partner darling.
Dans ce message antillais, doudou exprime une vraie affection.
In this Antillean message, darling expresses genuine affection.
Employer doudou pour une inconnue antillaise peut sembler familier ou stéréotypé.
Calling an Antillean stranger darling may sound overfamiliar or stereotyped.
Similar words
chérie
chéri
amour
bien-aimée
bien-aimé
Stereotyped Antillean female figure
noun
social
archaic
A dated, reductive tourist image of an Antillean woman in traditional dress, now discussed mainly when criticising the stereotype known as doudouisme.
Examples
L'affiche touristique montrait une doudou en robe madras.
The tourist poster showed a stereotyped Antillean woman in a madras dress.
Cette image de la doudou réduit les femmes antillaises à un décor exotique.
This image of the stereotyped Antillean woman reduces women to exotic decoration.
L'écrivaine critique le vieux cliché de la doudou souriante.
The writer criticises the old cliché of the smiling Antillean woman.
Le musée explique comment la figure de la doudou a servi la publicité coloniale.
The museum explains how the stereotyped figure served colonial advertising.
Aujourd'hui, présenter toute Antillaise comme une doudou est offensant.
Today, presenting every Antillean woman as this stereotype is offensive.
Similar words
Obsolete Indian copper coin
noun
money
archaic
A small copper coin formerly used in parts of India, including Surat and Pondicherry, recorded in eighteenth-century French sources.
Examples
Le catalogue mentionne un doudou de cuivre frappé en Inde.
The catalogue mentions a copper doudou coin struck in India.
Ce doudou valait autrefois deux caches.
This doudou coin was once worth two caches.
Le collectionneur conserve un doudou du dix-huitième siècle.
The collector keeps an eighteenth-century doudou coin.
Les marchands utilisaient le doudou dans plusieurs villes de l'Orient.
Merchants used the doudou coin in several eastern cities.
La valeur du doudou était faible.
The doudou coin had little value.
Similar words
Etymology
A childlike repetition of doux, “soft” or “gentle.” This expressive formation produced both the comfort-object sense and the affectionate form of address.
FAQ
What does doudou mean in French?
Doudou usually means a child's comfort object. Regionally it can mean a beloved person, and it has rarer historical senses.
How do you pronounce doudou?
Doudou is pronounced /dudu/.
Is doudou masculine or feminine?
The comfort object is usually un doudou in France. In Canadian French, a blanket called doudou is often feminine. The affectionate regional noun varies with the person.
What can a child's doudou be?
A child's doudou may be a soft toy, blanket, or familiar piece of cloth chosen for comfort.
Can doudou mean “darling”?
Yes. In Antillean and some African usage, doudou can affectionately address or name a loved person.
Can doudou be offensive?
Affectionate use among close people can be warm. Applying it broadly to Antillean women can evoke a colonial tourist stereotype and be offensive.
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