Trust and Impressions With croire
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3 de novembro de 2026
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In everyday French, croire and se croire go far beyond stating a simple opinion. They appear in a wide range of expressions for weighing trust, spotting deception, and talking about assumptions that turn out to be wrong.
- Prepositions and patterns: distinguish croire en quelqu'un, croire à quelque chose, and constructions followed directly by an infinitive like croire reconnaître or croire bien faire.
- Deception and skepticism: talk about misleading appearances with faire croire, laisser croire, and à en croire.
- Spoken reactions: use natural chunks for mistaken beliefs, overconfidence with se croire, and polite disagreement with the subjunctive.
Cartões Voca
1.
croire en quelqu'un
to believe in someone, to have faith in someone
Même après mon échec, ma responsable a continué à croire en moi et m'a confié le nouveau projet.
Even after my failure, my manager kept believing in me and put me in charge of the new project.
Used with 'en', 'croire' means having faith or confidence in a person, not just thinking they are telling the truth.
2.
croire quelqu'un sur parole
to take someone's word for it, to take someone at their word
Il n'avait aucun justificatif, mais comme il a toujours été honnête, je l'ai cru sur parole.
He didn't have any proof, but since he's always been honest, I took his word for it.
3.
croire à quelque chose
to believe something, to buy something
Il prétend que son train a été supprimé, mais franchement, je ne crois pas une seconde à son histoir
He claims his train was canceled, but honestly, I don't believe his story for a second.
With 'à', 'croire' is about whether a fact, story or explanation seems credible.
4.
croire dur comme fer à quelque chose
to firmly believe in something, to swear by something
Il croit dur comme fer à cette méthode miracle, alors qu'aucune étude sérieuse ne prouve son efficac
He firmly believes in this miracle method, even though no serious study proves it works.
Literally 'to believe hard as iron', used when someone holds an unshakable, often naive conviction.
5.
ne pas croire un mot de quelque chose
not to believe a word of something
Elle a essayé de se justifier pendant dix minutes, mais le directeur n'a pas cru un mot de ses expli
She spent ten minutes trying to explain herself, but the director didn't believe a word of her expla
6.
Il ne faut pas croire tout ce qu'on dit.
You shouldn't believe everything you hear., Don't believe everything people say.
Vérifie les chiffres toi-même avant de t'inquiéter, il ne faut pas croire tout ce qu'on dit dans les
Check the numbers yourself before you start worrying—you shouldn't believe everything you hear aroun
7.
faire croire quelque chose à quelqu'un
to make someone believe something, to lead someone to believe something
Ils nous ont fait croire que l'appartement avait été refait à neuf, mais la plomberie fuyait de part
They led us to believe the apartment had been completely renovated, but the plumbing was leaking eve
8.
laisser croire quelque chose à quelqu'un
to let someone believe something, to lead someone to believe something
Il ne m'a pas menti directement, mais il m'a laissé croire que le poste m'était réservé.
He didn't lie to me directly, but he let me believe the position was being held for me.
Unlike 'faire croire', which is active deception, 'laisser croire' means allowing a mistaken impression to persist.
9.
à en croire quelqu'un
if someone is to be believed, according to someone
À en croire le vendeur, cette voiture d'occasion n'a pratiquement jamais roulé en ville.
If the salesperson is to be believed, this used car has barely ever been driven in the city.
Used at the start of a sentence to report a claim while signaling that you doubt it.
10.
C'est à croire qu'il le fait exprès.
You'd think he was doing it on purpose., It's almost as if he's doing it on purpose.
Il appelle systématiquement au moment où je passe à table, c'est à croire qu'il le fait exprès.
He always calls right as I'm sitting down to eat—you'd think he was doing it on purpose.
'C'est à croire que' introduces an explanation that feels almost too pointed to be a coincidence.
11.
croire reconnaître quelqu'un
to think one recognizes someone
De loin, j'ai cru reconnaître une ancienne collègue et je lui ai fait un grand signe, mais c'était u
From a distance, I thought I recognized a former coworker and gave her a big wave, but she was a tot
Followed directly by a verb of perception like 'reconnaître', 'voir' or 'entendre', 'croire' expresses an impression that often proves mistaken.
12.
ne pas en croire ses yeux
not to believe one's eyes
Quand j'ai ouvert la facture d'électricité ce matin, je n'en ai pas cru mes yeux.
When I opened the electric bill this morning, I couldn't believe my eyes.
You can just as naturally say 'ne pas en croire ses oreilles' when reacting to something you hear.
13.
croire rêver
to think one must be dreaming
Il arrive avec une heure de retard et me reproche de ne pas l'avoir attendu, je crois rêver !
He shows up an hour late and blames me for not waiting for him—I must be dreaming!
Often said in the present ('Je crois rêver !') to express outrage at behaviour that seems unbelievable.
14.
croire bien faire
to mean well, to think one is doing the right thing
Je croyais bien faire en rangeant ton bureau, je ne savais pas que tu avais classé ces dossiers dans
I thought I was doing the right thing by tidying up your desk; I didn't know you had those files in
15.
croire bon de faire quelque chose
to see fit to do something, to think it wise to do something
Il a cru bon de mettre toute l'équipe en copie de son message, ce qui a créé une panique inutile.
He saw fit to copy the whole team on his message, which caused unnecessary panic.
Almost always used critically or ironically about someone's misguided initiative.
16.
Je croyais que c'était réglé.
I thought that was taken care of., I thought that was settled.
Comment ça, le fournisseur n'a toujours pas été payé ? Je croyais que c'était réglé depuis la semain
What do you mean the vendor still hasn't been paid? I thought that was taken care of last week.
In the imperfect, 'Je croyais que' signals that a belief you held until now has just been contradicted by reality.
17.
C'est ce que tu crois.
That's what you think.
Tu penses qu'il acceptera nos conditions sans discuter ? C'est ce que tu crois, il négocie toujours
You think he'll accept our terms without an argument? That's what you think—he always negotiates eve
18.
Je ne crois pas que ce soit nécessaire.
I don't think that's necessary., I don't believe that's necessary.
Tu veux vraiment qu'on réimprime tout le dossier pour une simple faute de frappe ? Je ne crois pas q
Do you really want us to reprint the whole file over a single typo? I don't think that's necessary.
After 'je ne crois pas que', French normally uses the subjunctive ('soit') to soften a negative judgment.
19.
se croire obligé de faire quelque chose
to feel obligated to do something, to feel like one has to do something
Ne te crois surtout pas obligé de rester jusqu'à la fin de la soirée si tu es fatigué.
Please don't feel obligated to stay until the end of the party if you're tired.
20.
se croire sorti d'affaire
to think one is out of the woods, to think one is in the clear
On se croyait enfin sortis d'affaire après la réparation, mais la chaudière est retombée en panne ce
We thought we were finally out of the woods after the repair, but the boiler broke down again this m
21.
se croire tout permis
to think one can get away with anything, to think one can do whatever one wants
Depuis qu'il a obtenu cette promotion, il se croit tout permis et ne respecte plus aucune consigne.
Ever since he got that promotion, he thinks he can get away with anything and doesn't follow any rul
22.
s'y croire
to be full of oneself, to think one is a big shot
Il vient à peine de commencer son stage et il donne déjà des leçons à tout le monde, il s'y croit vr
He barely just started his internship and he's already lecturing everyone—he's really full of himsel
Informal. Means someone is getting ahead of themselves or acting as if they already have the status they dream of.