Creer Conjugation | How to Conjugate Creer in Spanish

Creer means “to believe” or “to think.” You will learn its y forms such as creyendo and creyó, the written accents in creído and several preterite forms, and the common patterns creer que and creer en.

Creer conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Linguistically, creer is an -ER verb with spelling and stress adjustments around adjacent vowels. Its gerund is creyendo — “believing,” third-person preterite forms are creyó — “he / she believed” — and creyeron — “they believed,” while the participle is creído — “believed.”

Creer gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund supports progressive constructions, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. With haber, the participle remains unchanged for gender and number.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	creer	to believe, to think
Gerund	creyendo	believing
Past participle	creído	believed

Creer meaning and essential uses

Creer — “to believe” — can take a clause with que — “that”: Creo que es verdad. — “I think it is true.”

With en — “in,” it can express belief in, trust in, or confidence in someone or something: Creo en ti. — “I believe in you.” Negated or doubtful belief often creates a context where the following clause uses the subjunctive.

Creer irregular conjugation patterns

The present is regular in stem shape, but written accents preserve vowel separation in forms such as creéis — “you all believe.” In the preterite, creí, creíste, creímos, and creísteis — guides such as “I believed” and “you believed” — keep written í, while third-person forms use y: creyó — “he / she believed” — and creyeron — “they believed.” The y also appears in creyendo — “believing,” imperfect subjunctive creyera / creyese — “that I believed,” and future subjunctive creyere — “if / when I should believe.” The participle is creído — “believed.”

Creer indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Creer present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for present actions, habits, facts, and current states. Apply the verb-specific pattern described above to the present endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	creo	I believe
Tú — you, singular informal	crees	you believe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	cree	he / she believes; you believe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	creemos	we believe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creéis	you believe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	creen	they believe; you believe (plural)

• Creo que tenemos tiempo suficiente. — I think we have enough time.

Creer preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table shows the verified preterite forms for this verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	creí	I believed
Tú — you, singular informal	creíste	you believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	creyó	he / she believed; you believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	creímos	we believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creísteis	you believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	creyeron	they believed; you believed (plural)

• Ella creyó la historia al principio. — She believed the story at first.

Creer imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for past habits, background descriptions, and situations viewed as ongoing. This verb uses the regular imperfect ending family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	creía	I used to believe / was believing
Tú — you, singular informal	creías	you used to believe / were believing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	creía	he / she used to believe / was believing; you used to believe / were believing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	creíamos	we used to believe / were believing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creíais	you used to believe / were believing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	creían	they used to believe / were believing; you used to believe / were believing (plural)

• Antes creía que era imposible. — I used to think it was impossible.

Creer present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. Form it with a present form of estar — “to be” — plus the verified gerund.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy creyendo	I am believing
Tú — you, singular informal	estás creyendo	you are believing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está creyendo	he / she is believing; you are believing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos creyendo	we are believing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis creyendo	you are believing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están creyendo	they are believing; you are believing (plural)

• Estoy creyendo cada vez más en el proyecto. — I am believing in the project more and more.

Creer near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses a plan, intention, or expected event. Form it with a present form of ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and the infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a creer	I am going to believe
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a creer	you are going to believe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a creer	he / she is going to believe; you are going to believe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a creer	we are going to believe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a creer	you are going to believe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a creer	they are going to believe; you are going to believe (plural)

• Voy a creerlo cuando vea la prueba. — I am going to believe it when I see the evidence.

Creer future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where context supports it, probability. The endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	creeré	I will believe
Tú — you, singular informal	creerás	you will believe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	creerá	he / she will believe; you will believe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	creeremos	we will believe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creeréis	you will believe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	creerán	they will believe; you will believe (plural)

• Creerán la noticia cuando vean los datos. — They will believe the news when they see the data.

Creer conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical results, softened statements, or other conditional meanings supported by context. The endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	creería	I would believe
Tú — you, singular informal	creerías	you would believe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	creería	he / she would believe; you would believe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	creeríamos	we would believe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creeríais	you would believe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	creerían	they would believe; you would believe (plural)

• Creería esa explicación con más pruebas. — I would believe that explanation with more evidence.

Creer present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Form it with present haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the past participle. The participle is creído — “believed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he creído	I have believed
Tú — you, singular informal	has creído	you have believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha creído	he / she has believed; you have believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos creído	we have believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis creído	you have believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han creído	they have believed; you have believed (plural)

• He creído eso durante años. — I have believed that for years.

Creer past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. The participle is creído — “believed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había creído	I had believed
Tú — you, singular informal	habías creído	you had believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había creído	he / she had believed; you had believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos creído	we had believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais creído	you had believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían creído	they had believed; you had believed (plural)

• Habíamos creído que la tienda estaba abierta. — We had thought the store was open.

Creer future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. The participle is creído — “believed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré creído	I will have believed
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás creído	you will have believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá creído	he / she will have believed; you will have believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos creído	we will have believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis creído	you will have believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán creído	they will have believed; you will have believed (plural)

• Para entonces habrán creído la versión oficial. — By then they will have believed the official version.

Creer conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. The participle is creído — “believed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría creído	I would have believed
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías creído	you would have believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría creído	he / she would have believed; you would have believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos creído	we would have believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais creído	you would have believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían creído	they would have believed; you would have believed (plural)

• Habría creído la historia sin esa contradicción. — I would have believed the story without that contradiction.

Creer subjunctive conjugations

Creer present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate contexts involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The table shows this verb’s verified present-subjunctive family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	crea	that I believe
Tú — you, singular informal	creas	that you believe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	crea	that he / she believe; that you believe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	creamos	that we believe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creáis	that you believe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	crean	that they believe; that you believe (plural)

• No creo que sea necesario. — I do not think it is necessary.

Creer imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated in the examples; the two series should not be treated as mechanically interchangeable in every special construction.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	creyera	that I believed
Tú — you, singular informal	creyeras	that you believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	creyera	that he / she believed; that you believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	creyéramos	that we believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creyerais	that you believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	creyeran	that they believed; that you believed (plural)

• Dudaba que creyeran la historia. — I doubted that they would believe the story.
• Prefería que creyeses en el proyecto. — She preferred that you believe in the project.

Creer future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts and is included here as a reference system.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	creyere	if / when I should believe
Tú — you, singular informal	creyeres	if / when you should believe
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	creyere	if / when he / she should believe; if / when you should believe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	creyéremos	if / when we should believe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creyereis	if / when you should believe (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	creyeren	if / when they should believe; if / when you should believe (plural)

• Quien creyere tener derecho deberá acreditarlo. — Whoever should believe they have a right must substantiate it.

Creer present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the corresponding subjunctive form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus creído — “believed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya creído	that I have believed
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas creído	that you have believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya creído	that he / she has believed; that you have believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos creído	that we have believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis creído	that you have believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan creído	that they have believed; that you have believed (plural)

• No creo que hayas creído ese rumor. — I do not think you have believed that rumor.

Creer past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and appears in an example below. Form it with the corresponding subjunctive form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus creído — “believed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera creído	that I had believed
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras creído	that you had believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera creído	that he / she had believed; that you had believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos creído	that we had believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais creído	that you had believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran creído	that they had believed; that you had believed (plural)

• Si hubiera creído el aviso, habría salido antes. — If I had believed the warning, I would have left earlier.
• Si hubieses creído en ti, habrías aceptado el reto. — If you had believed in yourself, you would have accepted the challenge.

Creer future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It is a reference form used mainly in formal, legal, literary, or historical contexts. Form it with the corresponding subjunctive form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus creído — “believed.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere creído	if / when I should have believed
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres creído	if / when you should have believed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere creído	if / when he / she should have believed; if / when you should have believed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos creído	if / when we should have believed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis creído	if / when you should have believed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren creído	if / when they should have believed; if / when you should have believed (plural)

• Quien hubiere creído de buena fe deberá declararlo. — Whoever should have believed in good faith must state it.

Creer imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. Spanish uses different morphological sources depending on person and polarity; the nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Creer affirmative commands

Use affirmative commands when a direct instruction with this verb is semantically natural. The table includes the five core addressee or exhortative rows.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	cree	believe
Usted — you, singular formal	crea	believe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	creamos	let’s believe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	creed	believe (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	crean	believe (plural)

• Cree en tus posibilidades. — Believe in your abilities.

Creer negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms. The particle no — “not / do not” — comes before the command form.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no creas	do not believe
Usted — you, singular formal	no crea	do not believe (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no creamos	let’s not believe
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no creáis	do not believe (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no crean	do not believe (plural)

• No creas todo lo que lees. — Do not believe everything you read.

Common constructions with Creer

These target-verb patterns show complements or sentence frames that materially affect how the conjugated verb is used.

• Creer que algo es verdad. — To think that something is true.
• Creer en alguien. — To believe in someone.
• No creer que sea posible. — Not to believe that it is possible.

Example sentences with Creer

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already explained in the lesson.

• Creo que la información es correcta. — I think the information is correct.
• Ayer creí su explicación. — Yesterday I believed his explanation.
• Ella creyó que la reunión era hoy. — She thought the meeting was today.
• Siempre he creído en ese proyecto. — I have always believed in that project.

Regional and usage notes for Creer

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Where voseo is common, present-indicative and affirmative-command forms may differ from the core tú forms; the examples below show the verified voseo forms without replacing the main paradigm.

• Vos creés en ese proyecto. — You believe in that project. (voseo)
• Creé en tus posibilidades. — Believe in your abilities. (affirmative vos command)

With creer, watch the spelling around its vowels: y appears in creyendo, third-person preterite, and the subjunctive families derived from that preterite, while written accents keep forms such as creí and creído clear.