croire

Croire is a French verb meaning to believe, to hold something for true, or to have confidence in a person, idea, or institution. It covers accepting a claim as true (croire que), believing in a person or principle (croire en), and trusting in something’s reality or likelihood (croire à). In everyday speech, croire is also used for tentative inference, roughly equivalent to “I think” in English, depending on the context.

Usage and varieties of object: With que, as in Je crois qu’il va venir, to express belief in a proposition; with en, as in Elle croit en l’avenir, to express faith in a person or idea; with à, as in Je ne crois pas à ces histoires, to express disbelief or skepticism about a concept or claim. A common extended form is croire dur comme fer, meaning to believe firmly or wholeheartedly. Croire can also express a belief in something intangible, such as beliefs, myths, or probabilities: Je crois à l’improbable.

Conjugation: Croire is irregular. In the present tense: je crois, tu crois, il croit, nous croyons, vous croyez, ils croient. The passé composé is j’ai cru; the imparfait: je croyais; the plus-que-parfait: j’avais cru; the futur simple: je croirai; the conditionnel: je croirais. The subjonctif present: que je croie, que tu croies, qu’il croie, que nous croyions, que vous croyiez, qu’ils croient. The imperative: crois, croyons, croyez.

Etymology and related forms: Croire comes from the Latin credere. Related words include la croyance (belief), crédible (credible), and crédibilité (credibility). The verb is widely used in religious and secular discourse, including phrases like croire en Dieu or croire à une idée. It contrasts with savoir, which denotes knowledge or certainty.