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Non credo alla magia, ma tu ci credi?

Non credo alla magia, ma tu ci credi?
I don't believe in magic, but do you believe in it?
From Lesson 160:The complement clitic (ci)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Non credo alla magia, ma tu ci credi?

Why do we use ci here to mean "it"?
In Italian, the verb credere (when meaning to believe a concept or a fact) is followed by the preposition a. Because you are replacing a phrase that starts with a (alla magia), you must use the pronoun ci. It essentially acts as a shortcut for a + whatever was just mentioned, meaning "in it" or "to it".
Why does the first part use alla if the English translation says "in"?
Prepositions rarely translate word-for-word. While in English we "believe in" magic, in Italian you use the preposition a with this verb. Since magia is feminine, a combines with the word "the" (la) to become alla.
Could I put the ci after the verb and say tu credi ci?
No, tiny replacement words like ci always go immediately before a standard conjugated verb. So it must be ci credi.
Since credi already means "you believe", why is the word tu included?
You could grammatically drop it and just say ma ci credi?. However, Italian uses subject pronouns like tu when there is a strong contrast or emphasis. Here, it highlights the difference between the two people: "I don't believe in magic, but do you?"

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