sentir

Senses

1. 1.

   to feel

   to perceive through physical sensation or emotion

2. 2.

   to smell

   to perceive or detect an odor

3. 3.

   to sense

   to have an intuition or vague awareness of something

4. 4.

   to experience

   to undergo or live through an emotion or state

Examples

• "Je sens une douleur dans mon bras."

  I feel a pain in my arm.

• "Ça sent bon, qu'est-ce que c'est?"

  It smells good, what is it?

• "Elle sent que quelque chose ne va pas."

  She senses that something is wrong.

Usage

*Sentir* is a core French verb with multiple nuances. It is much more commonly used than English "to feel" for physical sensations. Note that the pronominal form *se sentir* means "to feel" (one's state/health): *Je me sens bien* = "I feel well." Often used with complementary infinitive: *sentir + infinitive* = "to sense/feel that something is happening."