sentir

Senses

1. 1.

   to feel (physical sensation or emotion)

   to perceive or experience a physical or emotional state

2. 2.

   to hear

   to perceive sound, especially in older or literary usage

3. 3.

   to regret; to be sorry

   to feel sorrow or regret about something

4. 4.

   to sense; to notice

   to become aware of something subtle or implicit

Examples

• "Siento frío esta noche."

  I feel cold tonight.

• "Siento mucho lo que pasó; te pido disculpas."

  I'm very sorry about what happened; I apologize to you.

• "Sentí una presencia extraña en la habitación."

  I sensed a strange presence in the room.

Usage

One of Spanish's most common verbs; a stem-changing verb (e > ie in present indicative: siento, sientes, siente, sienten). Often used reflexively as sentirse to mean "to feel" in the sense of one's state or condition (me siento bien = I feel well). The impersonal construction "se siente" is also common (se siente un olor = one smells/there is a smell).