Creo que… (I think…)
Spanish uses creer where English says "think": creo que va a llover (I think it's going to rain), creo que sí (I think so). But careful: no creo que + subjunctive: no creo que venga (I don't think he'll come).
Indicative tenses of creer
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | creoI believe |
|---|---|
| tú | creesyou believe |
| él/ella/usted | creehe/she believes |
| nosotros/as | creemoswe believe |
| vosotros/as | creéisyou all believe |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | creenthey believe |
Creo que sí / creo que no = I think so / I don't think so.
Preterite indicative
| yo | creíI believed |
|---|---|
| tú | creísteyou believed |
| él/ella/usted | creyóhe/she believed |
| nosotros/as | creímoswe believed |
| vosotros/as | creísteisyou all believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | creyeronthey believed |
Between two vowels, the i becomes y: creyó, creyeron. And note the accents: creíste, creímos.
Imperfect indicative
| yo | creíaI used to believe |
|---|---|
| tú | creíasyou used to believe |
| él/ella/usted | creíahe/she used to believe |
| nosotros/as | creíamoswe used to believe |
| vosotros/as | creíaisyou all used to believe |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | creíanthey used to believe |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy creyendoI am believing |
|---|---|
| tú | estás creyendoyou are believing |
| él/ella/usted | está creyendohe/she is believing |
| nosotros/as | estamos creyendowe are believing |
| vosotros/as | estáis creyendoyou all are believing |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están creyendothey are believing |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a creerI am going to believe |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a creeryou are going to believe |
| él/ella/usted | va a creerhe/she is going to believe |
| nosotros/as | vamos a creerwe are going to believe |
| vosotros/as | vais a creeryou all are going to believe |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a creerthey are going to believe |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | creeréI will believe |
|---|---|
| tú | creerásyou will believe |
| él/ella/usted | creeráhe/she will believe |
| nosotros/as | creeremoswe will believe |
| vosotros/as | creeréisyou all will believe |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | creeránthey will believe |
Conditional indicative
| yo | creeríaI would believe |
|---|---|
| tú | creeríasyou would believe |
| él/ella/usted | creeríahe/she would believe |
| nosotros/as | creeríamoswe would believe |
| vosotros/as | creeríaisyou all would believe |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | creeríanthey would believe |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he creídoI have believed |
|---|---|
| tú | has creídoyou have believed |
| él/ella/usted | ha creídohe/she has believed |
| nosotros/as | hemos creídowe have believed |
| vosotros/as | habéis creídoyou all have believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han creídothey have believed |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había creídoI had believed |
|---|---|
| tú | habías creídoyou had believed |
| él/ella/usted | había creídohe/she had believed |
| nosotros/as | habíamos creídowe had believed |
| vosotros/as | habíais creídoyou all had believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían creídothey had believed |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré creídoI will have believed |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás creídoyou will have believed |
| él/ella/usted | habrá creídohe/she will have believed |
| nosotros/as | habremos creídowe will have believed |
| vosotros/as | habréis creídoyou all will have believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán creídothey will have believed |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría creídoI would have believed |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías creídoyou would have believed |
| él/ella/usted | habría creídohe/she would have believed |
| nosotros/as | habríamos creídowe would have believed |
| vosotros/as | habríais creídoyou all would have believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían creídothey would have believed |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of creer
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | crea(that) I believe |
|---|---|
| tú | creas(that) you believe |
| él/ella/usted | crea(that) he/she believes |
| nosotros/as | creamos(that) we believe |
| vosotros/as | creáis(that) you all believe |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | crean(that) they believe |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | creyera / creyese(if) I believed |
|---|---|
| tú | creyeras / creyeses(if) you believed |
| él/ella/usted | creyera / creyese(if) he/she believed |
| nosotros/as | creyéramos / creyésemos(if) we believed |
| vosotros/as | creyerais / creyeseis(if) you all believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | creyeran / creyesen(if) they believed |
Future subjunctive
| yo | creyere(if) I believe |
|---|---|
| tú | creyeres(if) you believe |
| él/ella/usted | creyere(if) he/she believes |
| nosotros/as | creyéremos(if) we believe |
| vosotros/as | creyereis(if) you all believe |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | creyeren(if) they believe |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya creído(that) I have believed |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas creído(that) you have believed |
| él/ella/usted | haya creído(that) he/she has believed |
| nosotros/as | hayamos creído(that) we have believed |
| vosotros/as | hayáis creído(that) you all have believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan creído(that) they have believed |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera creído(if) I had believed |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras creído(if) you had believed |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera creído(if) he/she had believed |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos creído(if) we had believed |
| vosotros/as | hubierais creído(if) you all had believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran creído(if) they had believed |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere creído(if) I will have believed |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres creído(if) you will have believed |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere creído(if) he/she will have believed |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos creído(if) we will have believed |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis creído(if) you all will have believed |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren creído(if) they will have believed |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of creer
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | creebelieve! |
|---|---|
| usted | creabelieve! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | creamoslet's believe! |
| vosotros/as | creedbelieve! (you all) |
| ustedes | creanbelieve! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no creasdon't believe! |
|---|---|
| usted | no creadon't believe! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no creamoslet's not believe! |
| vosotros/as | no creáisdon't believe! (you all) |
| ustedes | no creandon't believe! (you all, formal) |
Practice creer
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and creer.
How to use creer
No me lo creo.
I can't believe it.
Creo que tienes razón.
I think you're right.
Creo que sí.
I think so.
Creo en ti.
I believe in you.
No creo que llueva.
I don't think it'll rain.
Example sentences with creer
- ¿Tú crees?Do you think so?
- Creo que es una buena idea.I think it's a good idea.
- Nadie me creyó.Nobody believed me.
- De niño creía en los fantasmas.As a kid I believed in ghosts.
- No te creerás lo que pasó.You won't believe what happened.
- ¿Quién lo creería?Who would believe it?
- No creo que venga.I don't think he'll come.
- Nunca lo hubiera creído.I would never have believed it.
Verbs like creer
Verbs like leer, caer and oír get the same y in the preterite: leyó, cayó, oyó.
Frequently asked questions about creer
Is creer regular or irregular?
Creer is mostly regular. Only the preterite (creyó, creyeron), the imperfect subjunctive (creyera), the gerund (creyendo) and the accents (creí, creído) change.
How do you conjugate creer in the present tense?
creo, crees, cree, creemos, creéis, creen.
How do you conjugate creer in the preterite?
creí, creíste, creyó, creímos, creísteis, creyeron.
Why is it "creyó" and not "creió"?
An unstressed i between two vowels becomes y in Spanish: creyó, leyó, cayó.
Is it "no creo que es" or "no creo que sea"?
No creo que sea: after no creo que you need the subjunctive. After creo que you use the indicative: creo que es.
What is the past participle of creer?
The past participle is creído (with an accent) and the gerund is creyendo.
Free cheat sheet
All 18 tenses of creer, on one page.
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