Craindre is the verb to fear, to be afraid of. It belongs to the -indre family — the same conjugation pattern as peindre, atteindre, joindre, plaindre, and a dozen others — but it is the family's emotional center: where the other -indre verbs name physical or technical actions, craindre names a feeling, and that single fact gives it special grammatical behavior. It is one of the canonical triggers of the French subjunctive in subordinate clauses: je crains qu'il ne vienne pas (I'm afraid he won't come). It is also one of the verbs that licenses the ne explétif — a "redundant" ne that appears between the subjunctive and the verb without negating the clause.
The conjugation feature is the same as peindre: two-stem alternation between crain- in the singular present (je crains, tu crains, il craint — all /kʁɛ̃/) and craign- in the plural and elsewhere (nous craignons, vous craignez, ils craignent, with palatal /ɲ/). The -d- of the infinitive is silent in the present-tense paradigm; it appears only in the written futur stem (craindr-) and the past participle craint.
This page is the verb-reference entry: every paradigm, every compound tense, the ne explétif construction, and the related verbs contraindre and plaindre. Use it as a lookup. The detail pages cover individual topics in depth.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary — the basic conjugational paradigms. Like all -indre verbs, craindre uses the crain-/craign- stem alternation.
Présent de l'indicatif
The two-stem alternation is on full display. The singular forms are all pronounced /kʁɛ̃/ — silent final -s and -t. The plural shifts to craign- with audible /ɲ/.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | crains | /kʁɛ̃/ |
| tu | crains | /kʁɛ̃/ |
| il / elle / on | craint | /kʁɛ̃/ |
| nous | craignons | /kʁɛɲɔ̃/ |
| vous | craignez | /kʁɛɲe/ |
| ils / elles | craignent | /kʁɛɲ/ |
The gn in the plural is the palatal /ɲ/ (Spanish ñ, Italian gn in gnocchi) — not the consonant cluster /g/+/n/. Pronouncing it as /gn/ is one of the most diagnostic non-native errors in French.
A productive idiom built on the present: ça craint (literally "that fears") is informal slang for "that sucks" or "that's sketchy." It is among the most-used informal expressions in modern spoken French and is conjugated only in the 3sg.
Je crains qu'il soit déjà trop tard.
I'm afraid it's already too late.
Tu crains les araignées ?
Are you afraid of spiders?
On craint surtout les conséquences à long terme.
What we mainly fear are the long-term consequences.
Ce quartier, ça craint la nuit.
This neighborhood is sketchy at night. (informal)
Imparfait
Built on the stem craign- (from nous craignons) plus the regular imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | craignais |
| tu | craignais |
| il / elle / on | craignait |
| nous | craignions |
| vous | craigniez |
| ils / elles | craignaient |
Enfant, je craignais l'orage plus que tout.
As a child, I was more afraid of thunderstorms than anything else.
On craignait que personne ne vienne à la fête.
We were afraid that nobody would come to the party.
Passé simple (literary)
Stem craigni-. Endings follow the -i- pattern.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | craignis |
| tu | craignis |
| il / elle / on | craignit |
| nous | craignîmes |
| vous | craignîtes |
| ils / elles | craignirent |
The circumflex on craignîmes, craignîtes is obligatory. Used in literary writing and historical narration.
Il craignit un instant que la vérité ne se sache.
For a moment he feared the truth would come out. (literary)
Futur simple
Stem craindr-. The -d- of the infinitive resurfaces in the written form.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | craindrai |
| tu | craindras |
| il / elle / on | craindra |
| nous | craindrons |
| vous | craindrez |
| ils / elles | craindront |
Je ne craindrai jamais d'être seul avec mes idées.
I'll never be afraid to be alone with my ideas.
Conditionnel présent
Same craindr- stem, with imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | craindrais |
| tu | craindrais |
| il / elle / on | craindrait |
| nous | craindrions |
| vous | craindriez |
| ils / elles | craindraient |
À ta place, je craindrais surtout la réaction de tes parents.
If I were you, I'd be most worried about your parents' reaction.
Subjonctif présent
Built on the craign- stem throughout, with regular subjunctive endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | craigne |
| (que) tu | craignes |
| (qu')il / elle / on | craigne |
| (que) nous | craignions |
| (que) vous | craigniez |
| (qu')ils / elles | craignent |
Il faut qu'on craigne les conséquences avant d'agir.
We need to fear the consequences before we act.
Je veux qu'ils craignent moins l'échec.
I want them to fear failure less.
Impératif
Three forms, derived from the indicative present.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | crains |
| (nous) | craignons |
| (vous) | craignez |
The negative imperative (ne crains rien, ne craignez pas) is far more common than the affirmative — telling someone "don't be afraid" is a daily speech act in a way that "be afraid" is not.
Ne crains rien, je suis là.
Don't be afraid, I'm here.
Ne craignez pas de poser des questions.
Don't be afraid to ask questions.
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: craint (with feminine crainte /kʁɛ̃t/, masculine plural craints, feminine plural craintes) — the -t- is silent in masculine, audible in feminine
- Participe présent: craignant
- Gérondif: en craignant
Note: la crainte is also the noun "fear," derived directly from this participle. La peur and la crainte are near-synonyms; la crainte is slightly more formal and often implies a respectful or anticipatory fear (the kind one has of something specific), while la peur is the more visceral, generic emotion.
Cet homme est craint de tous.
This man is feared by everyone.
Tout en craignant le pire, elle gardait espoir.
While fearing the worst, she kept hope.
The compound tenses
Craindre uses avoir as its auxiliary. The participle craint agrees with a preceding direct object.
Passé composé
avoir (présent) + craint
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| j' | ai craint | I feared / I've feared |
| tu | as craint | you feared |
| il / elle / on | a craint | he/she/we feared |
| nous | avons craint | we feared |
| vous | avez craint | you feared |
| ils / elles | ont craint | they feared |
J'ai longtemps craint cette conversation.
I dreaded this conversation for a long time.
On a craint le pire pendant quelques heures.
We feared the worst for a few hours.
Plus-que-parfait
avoir (imparfait) + craint
J'avais craint que tu n'arrives en retard.
I had been afraid you would arrive late.
Futur antérieur
avoir (futur) + craint
Quand l'orage sera passé, on aura craint pour rien.
When the storm has passed, we'll have worried for nothing.
Conditionnel passé
avoir (conditionnel) + craint
Sans ton message, j'aurais craint qu'il y ait eu un accident.
Without your message, I would have feared there'd been an accident.
Subjonctif passé
avoir (subjonctif) + craint
Il est possible qu'elle ait craint d'être jugée.
It's possible she was afraid of being judged.
The subjunctive trigger and the ne explétif
This is the pedagogically critical use of craindre: it is one of the canonical subjunctive triggers in French. When craindre introduces a subordinate clause beginning with que, that clause takes the subjunctive — not the indicative.
Je crains qu'il ne vienne pas.
I'm afraid he won't come. (subjunctive vienne, not indicative vient)
Elle craint que ce soit trop tard.
She's afraid it's too late.
On craint qu'il y ait eu un accident.
We're afraid there's been an accident.
The logic is the standard subjunctive logic: craindre expresses an emotional reaction to a possible situation. The feared event is not asserted as fact — it is the object of fear, contemplated rather than declared. The subjunctive marks the contemplated, non-asserted status of the embedded clause.
The ne explétif
Now the famous detail. Traditional French grammar inserts a ne — called the ne explétif ("expletive ne") — between the que and the subjunctive verb. This ne is not negative: the clause means "I'm afraid he WILL come," not "I'm afraid he won't come."
Je crains qu'il ne pleuve cet après-midi.
I'm afraid it WILL rain this afternoon. (ne explétif — does NOT negate)
On craint qu'il n'arrive trop tard.
We're afraid he WILL arrive too late.
The ne explétif appears with verbs of fear (craindre, redouter, avoir peur), verbs of preventing (empêcher), some negative verbs (éviter), comparatives (plus grand qu'on ne le pense), and a few other constructions. It is a fossilized grammatical particle that survives mainly in writing and careful speech.
If the speaker actually means "I'm afraid he WILL NOT come," they add pas — je crains qu'il ne vienne pas. Without pas, the ne alone is non-negating; with pas, the construction is properly negative.
| Construction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Je crains qu'il vienne. | I'm afraid he will come. |
| Je crains qu'il ne vienne. | I'm afraid he will come. (formal, with ne explétif — same meaning) |
| Je crains qu'il ne vienne pas. | I'm afraid he will NOT come. |
In modern spoken French, the ne explétif is often omitted without the meaning changing. Je crains qu'il vienne and je crains qu'il ne vienne are functionally identical; the version with ne is more careful or formal. Native speakers under 50 use it inconsistently in conversation; it is firmly preserved in writing, journalism, and educated speech.
Je crains qu'il ne soit déjà parti. (formal)
I'm afraid he's already left. (with ne explétif)
Je crains qu'il soit déjà parti. (everyday)
I'm afraid he's already left. (without ne explétif — same meaning)
This is genuinely confusing for learners and even for native speakers. There is no productive rule that predicts when the ne explétif must appear in speech — it is a register-driven choice. Learners are safe to always include it in writing (where it sounds careful and educated) and to omit it in casual speech (where it can sound stilted).
Other constructions with craindre
craindre de + infinitive
When the fear is about an action by the same subject, French uses craindre de + infinitive — no subjunctive needed.
Je crains d'arriver en retard.
I'm afraid of arriving late.
Elle craint de te déranger.
She's afraid of disturbing you.
craindre pour qqn / qqch
To express fear for someone or something — concern about their well-being.
On craint pour sa santé.
We're worried about his health.
Je crains pour l'avenir de cette entreprise.
I fear for the future of this company.
craindre + direct object (a thing feared)
The simplest construction — direct fear of a thing.
Cette plante craint le froid.
This plant is sensitive to cold. (literally: fears the cold)
Je ne crains personne.
I'm not afraid of anyone.
The use craindre le froid / la chaleur / l'humidité with plants and food is idiomatic and very common — the verb describes vulnerability rather than emotion. Cette peinture craint l'humidité — this paint can't handle humidity.
High-frequency craindre idioms
- ça craint — that sucks, that's sketchy (informal)
- je crains que…
- subjunctive — I'm afraid that…
- à craindre — to be feared (il est à craindre que… — it is to be feared that…)
- craindre le pire — to fear the worst
- craindre comme la peste — to fear like the plague
- ne rien craindre — to fear nothing, to be fearless
- sans crainte — without fear, fearlessly
On peut entrer sans crainte, le chien est gentil.
You can come in without fear, the dog is friendly.
Il est à craindre que la situation ne s'aggrave.
It is to be feared that the situation will worsen. (formal — with ne explétif)
Je n'ai rien à craindre de lui.
I have nothing to fear from him.
Related verbs: contraindre and plaindre
Craindre shares its conjugation with two other -aindre verbs that learners should know.
| Verb | Meaning | 1sg present | 3pl present | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| craindre | to fear | je crains | ils craignent | craint |
| contraindre | to compel / force | je contrains | ils contraignent | contraint |
| plaindre | to pity | je plains | ils plaignent | plaint |
Contraindre quelqu'un à faire quelque chose — to compel someone to do something. The pronominal se contraindre à — to force oneself to.
Plaindre quelqu'un — to pity someone, feel sorry for them. The pronominal se plaindre (de quelque chose / à quelqu'un) is far more common: to complain.
Personne ne te contraint à rester.
Nobody is forcing you to stay.
Je te plains, ce n'est pas une situation facile.
I pity you, that's not an easy situation.
Elle se plaint constamment de son patron.
She constantly complains about her boss.
The pronominal se plaindre is one of the most useful verbs in everyday French — arrête de te plaindre ! (stop complaining!) is something you'll hear in any French household.
Comparison with English
Three friction points:
- The subjunctive trigger. English uses indicative after "I'm afraid" (I'm afraid he is late — present indicative). French requires the subjunctive after je crains que. Failing to switch moods is one of the most common and most diagnostic learner errors.
- The ne explétif. English has nothing remotely like this. Je crains qu'il ne vienne sounds negative to an English speaker (the ne looks like "not"), but it isn't — it means "I'm afraid he WILL come." Memorize the rule: ne alone is non-negating; ne…pas is negating.
- Craindre + thing vs be afraid OF thing. English needs a preposition (afraid OF spiders); French uses craindre with a direct object (je crains les araignées). With avoir peur, French aligns with English: j'ai peur DES araignées. So the choice of verb determines the syntax.
The literal "fear" sense lines up cleanly. The figurative cette plante craint le froid (sensitive to cold) is a useful idiom worth memorizing — English has nothing analogous.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using indicative after je crains que.
❌ Je crains qu'il vient pas.
Wrong — craindre que requires the subjunctive.
✅ Je crains qu'il ne vienne pas.
I'm afraid he won't come.
Mistake 2: Reading the ne explétif as negative.
❌ Translating 'Je crains qu'il ne pleuve' as 'I'm afraid it WON'T rain.'
Wrong — without pas, the ne is non-negating. The clause means 'I'm afraid it WILL rain.'
✅ Translating 'Je crains qu'il ne pleuve' as 'I'm afraid it WILL rain.'
Correct — ne explétif does not negate.
Mistake 3: Adding de before a direct object.
❌ Je crains des araignées.
Wrong — craindre takes a direct object: je crains les araignées. (Use de with avoir peur de, not with craindre.)
✅ Je crains les araignées.
I'm afraid of spiders.
Mistake 4: Pronouncing gn as /gn/.
❌ /kʁɛgnɔ̃/ for craignons
Wrong — gn is /ɲ/, the palatal nasal.
✅ /kʁɛɲɔ̃/ for craignons
Correct pronunciation.
Mistake 5: Confusing plaindre and se plaindre.
❌ Je plains de mon dos.
Wrong — to complain is se plaindre. Plaindre alone means to pity someone.
✅ Je me plains de mon dos.
My back's bothering me. (literally: I'm complaining about my back.)
Key takeaways
Craindre is the verb to fear, be afraid of — and one of the canonical subjunctive triggers in French. Je crains que + subjunctive is non-negotiable; the indicative is wrong here. The famous ne explétif (non-negating ne) appears between the que and the subjunctive in formal usage: je crains qu'il ne vienne still means "I'm afraid he WILL come"; only je crains qu'il ne vienne pas flips it to negative.
The conjugation follows the -indre family pattern: crain- in the singular present (/kʁɛ̃/), craign- in the plural and elsewhere (with palatal /ɲ/). The futur stem craindr- reintroduces the silent -d-. In compound tenses, craindre takes avoir (j'ai craint).
Three constructions are essential: craindre que + subjunctive (with optional ne explétif), craindre de + infinitive (when subjects match), and craindre pour qqn (worry for someone). The idiomatic craindre le froid (be sensitive to cold, of plants and materials) has no English equivalent and is worth memorizing.
The related -aindre verbs contraindre (compel) and plaindre (pity) share the conjugation. The pronominal se plaindre (to complain) is one of the most useful verbs in everyday French — far more common than the bare plaindre.
Memorize the paradigms cold; reread the ne explétif section; use the page as a lookup. Once you have craindre's subjunctive trigger and the ne explétif internalized, you have unlocked one of the most reliable markers of educated French.
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