Note: This lesson provides usage examples for the French verb croire (to believe).
See this lesson for croire conjugation charts »
🎧 Audio by Marie Assel Cambier — native speaker & pro voice artist from France
Level A2 (Upper Beginner)
The French Word of the Day is croire, an essential irregular verb that means “to believe” and “to think.” Many students confuse croire en vs. croire à, which we’ll explore below the example sentences.
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 Croire meaning
The French verb croire is an irregular verb that means “to believe” or “to think.” It’s very common in everyday French and often appears with que to introduce a clause (Je crois que tu as raison — I think you’re right) or with en to express belief in something or someone (Je crois en Dieu — I believe in God). See examples below.
🎧 Croire pronunciation
Croire is pronounced /kʁwaʁ/ in IPA. It sounds like krwah-r in English. The oi is pronounced wah, and the final -re ends with the French ʁ (a soft “r” in the throat).
📝 French and English examples
Croire – to believe, to think
Croire en + noun — to believe in something/someone
Je crois en mes amis quand les choses deviennent difficiles.
I believe in my friends when things get difficult.
Croire que + subject — to think/believe that…
Je crois que tu as raison d’apprendre le français chaque jour.
I think you are right to learn French every day.
Croyait que + subject (imparfait) — he/she thought that…
Il croyait que le magasin serait encore ouvert le dimanche soir.
He thought that the store would still be open on Sunday evening.
Croire + direct object — to believe something
Nous croyons ce que tu dis parce que tu expliques clairement.
We believe what you say because you explain clearly.
Croire en + Dieu — to believe in God
Elle croit en Dieu et va à l’église chaque semaine.
She believes in God and goes to church every week.
👉 See the complete croire conjugation tables here »
👉 How many answers can you get right? Take the croire quiz! »
💡 Boost your French confidence!
Verbs like croire (to believe/think) pop up in real conversations every single day. To hear them in natural context, I recommend the À Moi Paris audio course from French Today.
👉 Explore the complete course here »
📖 Or read my full review of À Moi Paris »
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💡 Croire en vs. croire à
Both croire en and croire à translate as “to believe in.” But there’s an important difference.
👉 Croire en is used to express trust or faith in someone or something.
- Je crois en toi. → I believe in you.
- Elle croit en Dieu. → She believes in God. (Here, God is viewed as “someone.”)
- Tu crois en ton projet. → You believe in your project.
👉 Croire à is used for expressing belief in abstract things, concepts, or phenomena.
- Je crois à la justice. → I believe in justice.
- Il croit aux miracles. → He believes in miracles.
- Elle croit au Père Noël. → She believes in Santa Claus. (Here, Santa is viewed more as an idea or concept.)
🔗 Related words and expressions
- cru — past participle (J’ai cru = I thought/believed)
- un croyant / une croyante — a believer (religious context)
- la croyance — belief, faith
- c’est incroyable ! — that’s unbelievable! incredible!
- croire à — to believe in (something abstract, e.g., croire à la chance)
- croire en — to believe in (someone or something, e.g., croire en Dieu)
- faire croire — to make someone believe, to trick (e.g., Il m’a fait croire que…)
- avoir du mal à le croire — to have trouble believing it
🚀 Expand your French vocabulary!
Now that you’ve mastered croire, which often implies belief or trust, check out my lesson on penser — a more neutral verb that simply means “to think” and is used in factual contexts.
👉 Learn penser here »
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