croire
/kʁwaʁ/
To believe in French is croire.
The verb croire is used to express the act of accepting something as true.
Meaning: to accept as true (verb)
Which one should you use?
While croire means to believe or think, it is distinct from croire en, which is used for having faith or belief in someone or something (e.g., believing in God or a person's abilities).
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing the belief that a certain clause is true, use croire que followed by a subject and a verb. The first-person singular present tense of 'croire' is 'je crois'.
How do you pronounce it?
/kʁwaʁ/
Did you know?
- When French speakers say je ne te crois pas, they are not just doubting a fact but often accusing the other person of lying.
- The English word 'credit' and the French verb croire share the same ancestor, the Latin 'credere', which means 'to believe'.
- In legal or formal contexts, the concept of 'belief' is often replaced by estimer, which means to judge or assess a value.
Examples in context
- Je veux te croire.I want to believe you.This sentence demonstrates how to use croire when expressing a desire to believe a person.Tatoeba #2071355 by sacredceltic, translation #1887887 by CK
- Tu peux le croire.You can believe it.This sentence shows the use of croire to express the ability to believe a specific thing.Tatoeba #3675449 by nimfeo, translation #3675886 by speedwell
- Qui va croire ça ?Who'll believe that?This sentence illustrates a question using croire regarding the likelihood of believing a statement.Tatoeba #7327064 by Aiji, translation #3820114 by CK
- Je crois en toi.I believe in you.
- Il croit à la vie après la mort.He believes in life after death.
- Nous croyons en l'égalité.We believe in equality.
- Je pense que tu as raison.I believe/think you are right.
- Elle pense que c'est une bonne idée.She believes/thinks it's a good idea.
- On pense qu'il est innocent.We believe/think he is innocent.
- J'estime que c'est la meilleure solution.I believe/consider it to be the best solution.
- Ils estiment qu'il n'y a pas d'autre choix.They believe/consider there is no other choice.
- Je crois que tu as raison.I believe you are right.
- On croit qu'il va pleuvoir demain.We believe it's going to rain tomorrow.
- J'ai confiance en toi.I believe/trust in you.
- Elle a confiance en ses compétences.She believes/trusts in her abilities.
- Je suis persuadé(e) que c'est la bonne décision.I believe/am convinced that it's the right decision.
- Ils sont persuadés que ça ne marchera pas.They believe/are convinced that it won't work.
- 820 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel tells Emma a surprising story about his day.
- GabrielJ'ai vu un ours dans le jardin !I saw a bear in the garden!
- EmmaJe ne peux pas te croire, Gabriel.I cannot believe you, Gabriel.
- GabrielC'est vrai, je te jure !It's true, I swear!
- EmmaJe veux bien te croire, mais c'est impossible.I want to believe you, but it's impossible.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “believe” translations and entries croire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries croire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
