Croire en vs Croire à

Thanh TânB2Kwiziq community member

Croire en vs Croire à

Please help me explain why we use "en" in the sentence "elle ne pouvait pas en croire ses yeux !" Does it have anything to do with "Croire à vs Croire en"? Can I erase "en" in that sentence?
Asked 1 year ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Thanh Tân, 

There is a slight difference in meaning between 'croire à' et 'croire en' quelque chose.

Take a look at the explanation given by the Académie française -

https://www.academie-francaise.fr/l-de-l-allemagne

 

So you will say -

Julien croit encore au Père Noël Julian still believes in Father Christmas

Ils croient aux fantômes They believe in ghosts

but 

Ils croient en Dieu They believe in God

Ils croient en une amélioration de la situation financière = They believe in an improvement of the financial situation

and the set expression -

ne pas en croire ses yeux = to not believe your eyes

 

JimC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Salut de nouveau Thanh Tân,

If you look back to my input on your previous post, I think this current point has been covered?

Bonne journée

Jim

Croire en vs Croire à

Please help me explain why we use "en" in the sentence "elle ne pouvait pas en croire ses yeux !" Does it have anything to do with "Croire à vs Croire en"? Can I erase "en" in that sentence?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Clever stuff happening!