Faire confiance vs. avoir confiance vs. se fier

The French language has nuanced expressions for the concept of trust. 'Faire confiance', 'avoir confiance', and 'se fier' all express trust in varying contexts and connotations. Understanding the subtle differences between them is key to grasping the full range of French expressions relating to confidence in people, institutions, or information.

Faire confiance

'Faire confiance' translates to 'to trust' or 'to place trust in'. It implies an active decision or willingness to rely on someone or something.
Je fais confiance à mon médecin.
(I trust my doctor.)
Tu peux lui faire confiance, c'est une experte.
(You can trust her; she's an expert.)
Les parents doivent faire confiance à leurs enfants pour qu'ils grandissent en confiance.
(Parents need to place trust in their children so that they grow up with confidence.)

Avoir confiance

'Avoir confiance' translates to 'to have confidence' or 'to be confident in'. It typically denotes a state of mind or feeling regarding one's belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
J'ai confiance en toi pour finir ce projet.
(I have confidence in you to finish this project.)
Il a confiance en la justice de son pays.
(He has confidence in the justice system of his country.)
Elle a toujours eu confiance en ses capacités.
(She has always been confident in her abilities.)

Se fier

'Se fier' means 'to rely on', suggesting a sense of trust based on experience or reputation rather than an emotional state as with 'avoir confiance'. It often implies cautious judgment and can sometimes mean 'to depend upon'.
On peut se fier à ses intuitions ?
(Can we rely on his intuitions?)
Elle s'est fiée à la météo et n'a pas pris de parapluie.
(She relied on the weather forecast and did not take an umbrella.)
Les voyageurs ne savaient pas s'ils pouvaient se fier aux avis en ligne pour choisir leur hôtel.
(The travelers didn't know if they could depend on online reviews to choose their hotel.)

Summary

To summarize, while all three phrases convey a sense of trust, 'faire confiance' is about placing trust actively, 'avoir confiance' describes a general feeling of confidence, and 'se fier' refers to relying on someone or something based on judgment or past experience. Understanding the context in which these expressions are used will help in distinguishing them effectively when communicating in French.