Croire Conjugation in French
croire means “to believe” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 13 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about believing this story, and because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of croire — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je crois à cette histoire tous les jours.” — “I believe this story every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: croire
- English: to believe
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle
- Gerund: croyant
- Past participle: cru
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -re verbs; pattern re in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for croire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read croire in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about croire
- It is irregular in 10 tense(s): present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. Learn those forms as a set rather than guessing them from the infinitive, because the regular pattern will not produce them.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle cru. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is croyant and the participle is cru: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for croire. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | crois |
| tu | crois |
| il/elle | croit |
| nous | croyons |
| vous | croyez |
| ils/elles | croient |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With croire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je crois en mes amis tous les jours.” — “I believe in my friends every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | crus |
| tu | crus |
| il/elle | crut |
| nous | crûmes |
| vous | crûtes |
| ils/elles | crurent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. With croire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu crus en mes amis hier.” — “You believed in my friends yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | croyais |
| tu | croyais |
| il/elle | croyait |
| nous | croyions |
| vous | croyiez |
| ils/elles | croyaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il croyait en mes amis autrefois.” — “He used to believe in my friends in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | croirai |
| tu | croiras |
| il/elle | croira |
| nous | croirons |
| vous | croirez |
| ils/elles | croiront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. With croire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je croirai en mes amis demain.” — “I will believe in my friends tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | croirais |
| tu | croirais |
| il/elle | croirait |
| nous | croirions |
| vous | croiriez |
| ils/elles | croiraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With croire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tu croirais en mes amis un jour.” — “You would believe in my friends one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai cru |
| tu | as cru |
| il/elle | a cru |
| nous | avons cru |
| vous | avez cru |
| ils/elles | ont cru |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a cru en mes amis cette semaine.” — “He has believed in my friends this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais cru |
| tu | avais cru |
| il/elle | avait cru |
| nous | avions cru |
| vous | aviez cru |
| ils/elles | avaient cru |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais cru en mes amis avant la fête.” — “I had believed in my friends before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai cru |
| tu | auras cru |
| il/elle | aura cru |
| nous | aurons cru |
| vous | aurez cru |
| ils/elles | auront cru |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras cru en mes amis pour demain.” — “You will have believed in my friends by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais cru |
| tu | aurais cru |
| il/elle | aurait cru |
| nous | aurions cru |
| vous | auriez cru |
| ils/elles | auraient cru |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait cru en mes amis hier.” — “He would have believed in my friends yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | croie |
| tu | croies |
| il/elle | croie |
| nous | croyions |
| vous | croyiez |
| ils/elles | croient |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With croire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que je croie en mes amis.” — “It is important that I believe in my friends.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | crusse |
| tu | crusses |
| il/elle | crût |
| nous | crussions |
| vous | crussiez |
| ils/elles | crussent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. With croire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Il est important que tu crusses en mes amis.” — “It is important that you believe in my friends.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | crois |
| nous | croyons |
| vous | croyez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With croire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Crois en mes amis !” — “Believe in my friends!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | crois |
| nous | croyons |
| vous | croyez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With croire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne crois pas en mes amis.” — “Do not believe in my friends.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en croyant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En croyant à cette histoire, je passe un bon moment.” — “While believing this story, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | cru |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai cru à cette histoire cette semaine.” — “I have believed this story this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with croire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je crois à cette histoire tous les jours.” — “I believe this story every day.”
- “Tu crus en mes amis hier.” — “You believed in my friends yesterday.”
- “Il croyait que Marie va venir autrefois.” — “He used to believe that Marie will come in the past.”
- “Je croirai à cette histoire demain.” — “I will believe this story tomorrow.”
- “Tu croirais en mes amis un jour.” — “You would believe in my friends one day.”
- “Il a cru que Marie va venir cette semaine.” — “He has believed that Marie will come this week.”
- “J'avais cru à cette histoire avant la fête.” — “I had believed this story before the party.”
- “Tu auras cru en mes amis pour demain.” — “You will have believed in my friends by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il croie que Marie va venir.” — “It is important that he believe that Marie will come.”
- “Crois à cette histoire !” — “Believe this story!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je croire à cette histoire.”
✓ Right: “Je crois à cette histoire.”
The infinitive croire never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form crois.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je croient à cette histoire.”
✓ Right: “Je crois à cette histoire.”
croient is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with crois.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je crus à cette histoire tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je crois à cette histoire tous les jours.”
The passé simple crus describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present crois.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je crois à cette histoire.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je croie à cette histoire.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use croie here, not the indicative crois.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis cru à cette histoire.”
✓ Right: “Je ai cru à cette histoire.”
The passé composé of croire is formed with avoir plus the past participle cru: the je form is ai cru. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “crois” written without its accent
✓ Right: “crois”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on croire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of croire in the Present indicative?
- A) crois
- B) croit
- C) croyons
- D) croyez
What is the il/elle form of croire in the Passé simple?
- A) crûmes
- B) crûtes
- C) crut
- D) crus
What is the nous form of croire in the Imperfect?
- A) croyait
- B) croyiez
- C) croyions
- D) croyais
What is the tu form of croire in the Future?
- A) croirons
- B) croiras
- C) croirai
- D) croira
What is the je form of croire in the Conditional?
- A) croirais
- B) croirait
- C) croirions
- D) croiriez
What is the il/elle form of croire in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) avons cru
- B) a cru
- C) ai cru
- D) as cru
What is the il/elle form of croire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) croyions
- B) croyiez
- C) croie
- D) croies
What is the je form of croire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) crusses
- B) crût
- C) crussions
- D) crusse
What is the gerund of croire?
- A) en sentant
- B) en croyant
- C) en aimant
- D) en vivant
What does croire mean in English?
- A) to feel
- B) to believe
- C) to love, to like
- D) to live
Answer key
- A) crois — the je form of croire in the Present indicative is crois. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) crut — the il/elle form of croire in the Passé simple is crut. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) croyions — the nous form of croire in the Imperfect is croyions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) croiras — the tu form of croire in the Future is croiras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) croirais — the je form of croire in the Conditional is croirais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) a cru — the il/elle form of croire in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a cru. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) croie — the il/elle form of croire in the Present subjunctive is croie. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) crusse — the je form of croire in the Imperfect subjunctive is crusse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) en croyant — the gerund of croire is en croyant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to believe — croire means “to believe” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does croire mean in English?
croire means “to believe”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is croire regular or irregular?
croire is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, future, conditional, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, gerund, past-participle. The gerund is croyant and the past participle is cru.
What are the gerund and past participle of croire?
The gerund is croyant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is cru — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai cru.
Which auxiliary does croire take in the passé composé?
croire takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai cru. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle cru.
How do I say “I believe” in French?
Say “Je crois à cette histoire tous les jours.” — “I believe this story every day.” The je form of the present is crois, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of croire — every tense of croire in one place.
- Croire in the passé composé tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Croire examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Aimer conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Vivre conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Sentir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — practise croire with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise croire with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise croire with the interactive tool.