croire/kʁwaʁ/
verb · A2 · Frequency 109
verb
Meanings
to believe; to think that something is true
Can take a person or a thing, and often a clause, to mean believing what someone says or holding something to be true.
to trust
Usually takes a person and means having confidence in someone; unlike the sense of believing something true, the focus is trust in a person.
to believe in; to have faith in
Often used for religion, ideals, or values, and may take a prepositional complement to express faith or belief in something.
to think; to suppose
Often takes a clause and expresses a personal opinion, assumption, or judgment rather than faith or trust.
to think oneself; to consider oneself
Used in se croire + complement to mean considering oneself a certain kind of person or in a certain state.
Examples
Il est difficile de croire cette histoire sans preuve.
It is difficult to believe this story without proof.
Elle a appris à croire ses collègues après plusieurs projets réussis.
She learned to trust her colleagues after several successful projects.
Mon grand-père continue de croire en la solidarité entre voisins.
My grandfather continues to believe in solidarity among neighbors.
Je veux croire que la situation va bientôt s'améliorer.
I want to think that the situation will soon improve.
Collocations
- croire en quelqu'unto believe in someone
- croire quelqu'unto trust someone
- se croire intelligentto think oneself intelligent
Common mistakes
Ils croivent que c'est vrai.
Ils croient que c'est vrai.
The third-person plural present indicative of croire is the irregular form croient, not croivent.
Related words
antonymdouterto doubt, to be uncertain about the truth or correctness of something
Grammar note
Croire is an essential pronominal verb and uses the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses.
verb
Meanings
to believe; to think that something is true
Can take a person or a thing, and often a clause, to mean believing what someone says or holding something to be true.
to trust
Usually takes a person and means having confidence in someone; unlike the sense of believing something true, the focus is trust in a person.
to believe in; to have faith in
Often used for religion, ideals, or values, and may take a prepositional complement to express faith or belief in something.
to think; to suppose
Often takes a clause and expresses a personal opinion, assumption, or judgment rather than faith or trust.
to think oneself; to consider oneself
Used in se croire + complement to mean considering oneself a certain kind of person or in a certain state.
Examples
Croyant que le train était déjà parti, elle a quitté la gare.
Believing that the train had already left, she left the station.
Croyant son collègue compétent, la responsable lui a confié le dossier.
Trusting her colleague's competence, the manager entrusted the file to him.
Croyant en la solidarité, ils ont organisé une collecte.
Believing in solidarity, they organized a collection.
Croyant avoir fermé la fenêtre, il est parti travailler.
Thinking that he had closed the window, he left for work.
Grammar note
Croire is an essential pronominal verb and uses the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses.
verb
Meanings
to believe; to think that something is true
Can take a person or a thing, and often a clause, to mean believing what someone says or holding something to be true.
to trust
Usually takes a person and means having confidence in someone; unlike the sense of believing something true, the focus is trust in a person.
to believe in; to have faith in
Often used for religion, ideals, or values, and may take a prepositional complement to express faith or belief in something.
to think; to suppose
Often takes a clause and expresses a personal opinion, assumption, or judgment rather than faith or trust.
to think oneself; to consider oneself
Used in se croire + complement to mean considering oneself a certain kind of person or in a certain state.
Examples
J'ai cru que le train partirait à huit heures.
I believed that the train would leave at eight.
J'ai cru mon frère quand il m'a raconté ce qui s'était passé.
I trusted my brother when he told me what had happened.
Elle a cru en son projet malgré les premières difficultés.
She believed in her project despite the initial difficulties.
Nous avons cru entendre quelqu'un dans le couloir.
We thought we heard someone in the hallway.
Collocations
- croire en quelqu'unto believe in someone
- croire quelqu'unto trust someone
- se croire intelligentto think oneself intelligent
Common mistakes
Ils croivent que c'est vrai.
Ils croient que c'est vrai.
The third-person plural present indicative of croire is the irregular form croient, not croivent.
Related words
antonymdouterto doubt, to be uncertain about the truth or correctness of something
Grammar note
Croire is an essential pronominal verb and uses the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses.
verb
Meanings
to believe; to think that something is true
Can take a person or a thing, and often a clause, to mean believing what someone says or holding something to be true.
to trust
Usually takes a person and means having confidence in someone; unlike the sense of believing something true, the focus is trust in a person.
to believe in; to have faith in
Often used for religion, ideals, or values, and may take a prepositional complement to express faith or belief in something.
to think; to suppose
Often takes a clause and expresses a personal opinion, assumption, or judgment rather than faith or trust.
to think oneself; to consider oneself
Used in se croire + complement to mean considering oneself a certain kind of person or in a certain state.
Examples
Je crois que cette solution est la plus simple.
I believe this solution is the simplest.
Je crois mon frère quand il me raconte ce qui s'est passé.
I trust my brother when he tells me what happened.
Je crois en la capacité de cette équipe à réussir.
I believe in this team's ability to succeed.
Je crois qu'il est déjà parti.
I think he has already left.
Grammar note
Croire is an essential pronominal verb and uses the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses.
verb
Meanings
to believe; to think that something is true
Can take a person or a thing, and often a clause, to mean believing what someone says or holding something to be true.
to trust
Usually takes a person and means having confidence in someone; unlike the sense of believing something true, the focus is trust in a person.
to believe in; to have faith in
Often used for religion, ideals, or values, and may take a prepositional complement to express faith or belief in something.
to think; to suppose
Often takes a clause and expresses a personal opinion, assumption, or judgment rather than faith or trust.
to think oneself; to consider oneself
Used in se croire + complement to mean considering oneself a certain kind of person or in a certain state.
Examples
Elle croit que le train arrivera à l'heure.
She believes that the train will arrive on time.
Il croit son collègue quand celui-ci explique son retard.
He trusts his colleague when the latter explains his delay.
Ma grand-mère croit en la force de la patience.
My grandmother believes in the strength of patience.
Collocations
- croire en quelqu'unto believe in someone
- croire quelqu'unto trust someone
- se croire intelligentto think oneself intelligent
Common mistakes
Ils croivent que c'est vrai.
Ils croient que c'est vrai.
The third-person plural present indicative of croire is the irregular form croient, not croivent.
Related words
antonymdouterto doubt, to be uncertain about the truth or correctness of something
Grammar note
Croire is an essential pronominal verb and uses the auxiliary verb avoir in compound tenses.