👉 Check out my lesson covering the related expression ça craint (that sucks, it’s sketchy) »
Level: B1 (Intermediate)
🎧 Audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a native speaker & professional voice artist from France
The French Word of the Day is craindre, an irregular verb meaning “to fear.” It can be followed by a noun, de + infinitive, or que + the subjunctive — and we’ll explore all these uses in today’s lesson!
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 Craindre meaning
Craindre is an irregular verb meaning “to fear” or “to be afraid of” in French. It can be followed by a noun (craindre un accident — to fear an accident), by de + infinitive (craindre de perdre — to fear losing), or by que + the subjunctive (Je crains qu’il soit trop tard — I’m afraid it’s too late).
🎧 Craindre pronunciation
Craindre is pronounced /krɛ̃dʁ/, roughly “krehndr.” The cr- sounds like “kr,” the ai is an open “eh,” and the nasal /ɛ̃/ blends into the soft final -dre, where the r is lightly rolled.
📝 French and English examples
Craindre – to fear, be afraid of
Je crains un accident sur cette route glissante.
I fear an accident on this slippery road.
Elle craint de ne jamais revoir son ami.
She’s afraid of never seeing her friend again.
Nous craignons une mauvaise nouvelle ce soir.
We fear bad news this evening.
Il craint de perdre tout ce qu’il a construit.
He’s afraid of losing everything he has built.
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❓ Does craindre take the subjunctive?
Yes, the verb craindre requires the subjunctive when it’s followed by que. For example:
👉 Je crains qu’il pleuve ce soir. — I’m afraid it will rain tonight.
👉 Je crains qu’il ne vienne pas. — I’m afraid he’s not coming.
📊 Craindre conjugation
- je crains — I fear
- tu crains — you fear (informal singular)
- il / elle / on craint — he / she / one fears
- nous craignons — we fear
- vous craignez — you fear (formal singular or plural)
- ils / elles craignent — they fear
🔗 Related words and expressions
- craindre le pire — to fear the worst
- craindre pour sa vie — to fear for one’s life
- ne rien craindre — to have nothing to fear
- la crainte — fear, apprehension
- une crainte justifiée — a justified fear
- avoir des craintes — to have worries / concerns
- sans crainte — without fear
- par crainte de — out of fear of
- ça craint — that’s bad, it’s sketchy
🚀 Expand your French vocabulary!
Now that you’ve mastered craindre, take a look at my lesson covering the useful avoir expression avoir peur (to be afraid).
👉 Learn avoir peur »
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