Meaning & use
go native
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Meanings
phraseidiominformal
To take on the habits, dress, language and way of life of the people in a place where you were once a foreigner or outsider.
Grammar: Intransitive idiom with no object: after years abroad he went native.
Patterns
- go native in a place
- completely go native
After a decade in rural Japan, the engineer had gone native and rarely spoke English at home.
Many expats resist the urge to go native, keeping their old routines wherever they live.
She went native within a month of arriving in Mexico, shopping at street markets and learning every local recipe.
phraseidiominformalhumorous
To humorously start dressing, eating or behaving like the locals during a short stay, often just to enjoy the experience.
Grammar: Often used jokingly about holidays: we went native for a week.
Patterns
- go native for a week
On our beach holiday we went native and ate only at the village stalls.
He has gone native in the Scottish Highlands, wearing wool and boots every day.
Word forms
| third person singular | goes native |
|---|---|
| past tense | went native |
| past participle | gone native |
| -ing form | going native |
Common combinations
- completely go native
- After two years in Peru, he had completely gone native.
- accused of going native
- The diplomat was accused of going native when he defended the local customs.
- in danger of going native
- The researcher was in danger of going native after living with the villagers for so long.
- tempted to go native
- I was tempted to go native and stay in the mountains forever.
- gone native in a place
- They have gone native in Spain, with siestas and late dinners.
Synonyms and how they differ
- assimilate
- Assimilate is a neutral, more formal word for blending into a new society, while go native is informal and implies leaving your own culture behind.
- acclimatize
- Acclimatize is about getting used to a climate or conditions, whereas go native is about adopting the whole local way of life.
- adapt
- Adapt is a general word for adjusting; go native suggests a deeper, sometimes surprising, change of identity.
- integrate
- Integrate focuses on joining the community without necessarily giving up your own habits, unlike go native.
Opposites
Word family
- native adjective
- belonging to a place by birth
- native noun
- a person born in a place
- nativity noun
- birth, especially the birth of Jesus
- naturalize verb
- to give someone citizenship
Commonly confused: go native or go natural?
go native vs go natural
Go natural means to stop using artificial products such as dye or chemicals, which has nothing to do with adopting a foreign culture.
Practice
After ten years in Lisbon, she had completely ___ and rarely spoke English at home.
Choose one answer.
Gone native means adopting local ways of life. Gone ahead means proceeded, gone off means spoiled or left, and gone under means failed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “go native”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.