Using 'sentir' to describe senses

In: Level A1, Idioms, Idiomatic Usage, and Structures, Idiotisme
Questions: 15

The verb sentir is an interesting verb as it is more general and vague than the verb to smell in English.

1. 

Sentir is first of all used to express the sense of smell:

Est-ce que vous sentez ce parfum?
Do you smell that perfume?


2. 

Sentir can also be used in a larger sense to express to feel something:

Ça fait mal?
- Non, je ne sens rien.
Does it hurt? 
- No, I don't feel anything.

Est-ce qu'elle sent ça ?
Does she feel that?


3.

And in some cases, sentir can even be used to express taste, in a very general context of 'sensing' the presence of an ingredient for example:

Est-ce que tu sens la tomate ?
Do you taste the tomato?


ATTENTION:

You use the same structure - sentir [quelque chose] - to express both to smell/feel/taste [something] AND to smell like/of [something].

Note that in the case of smell like/of, you always use definite articles le, la, l', les as the simile is general.

Since the structure is the same, it is only the context that makes the meaning clear:

Tu sens la friture, c'est dégoûtant !
You smell of fried food, it's disgusting!

Tu sens la friture dans cette rue?
Do you smell the fried food on that street ?


Special cases 

Look at the following fixed expressions in French:

Tu sens la rose aujourd'hui !
You smell good today!

Ouh là là ! Ils ne sentent pas la rose !
Wow! They smell nasty!

Attention ! Ça ne sent pas la rose là-dedans !
Careful! It smells nasty in here!

- sentir la rose, which means to smell good, literally 'to smell of roses'

- ne pas sentir la rose, which means to smell bad/nasty, literally 'to not smell of roses' 

 

See also the more advanced Using 'sentir bon' and 'se sentir bien'

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Idiotisme

Examples and resources

Est-ce que vous sentez ce parfum?
Do you smell that perfume?

Attention ! Ça ne sent pas la rose là-dedans !
Careful! It smells nasty in here!

Tu sens la friture dans cette rue?
Do you smell the fried food on that street ?

Tu sens la rose aujourd'hui !
You smell good today!

Est-ce que tu sens la tomate ?
Do you taste the tomato?

Ouh là là ! Ils ne sentent pas la rose !
Wow! They smell nasty!

Est-ce qu'elle sent ça ?
Does she feel that?

Ça fait mal?
- Non, je ne sens rien.
Does it hurt? 
- No, I don't feel anything.

Ça sent les roses ici.
It smells like roses in here.

Tu sens la friture, c'est dégoûtant !
You smell of fried food, it's disgusting!

Q&A

Debra

Kwiziq community member

2 August 2018

1 reply

Il sent la pain was the correct answer in the test, is pain feminine? Shouldn’t it be il sent le pain?

Cécile

Kwiziq language super star

2 August 2018

2/08/18

Hi Debra,

I have checked with Aurélie and the correct answer is:

"Ça sent le pain".

 

 

 

steven

Kwiziq community member

24 May 2018

3 replies

I feel bad

To say I feel bad, would you write "Je me sens mal" or "Je sens mal"? 

Cécile

Kwiziq language super star

25 May 2018

25/05/18

Hi Steven ,

Je me sens mal or je ne me sens pas bien is I feel bad in French.

Je sens mauvais would be I smell bad!

Hope this helps!

steven

Kwiziq community member

30 May 2018

30/05/18

Hi Cécile,

So "Je sens mal" would mean nothing as it is gramatically incorrect then, is that right? 

Cécile

Kwiziq language super star

30 May 2018

30/05/18

Well, 'je sens mal' would suggest that there's something wrong with your sense of smell....

DeAnna

Kwiziq community member

5 May 2018

2 replies

là-dedans

Bonjour!

in the example “ça ne sent pas la rose là-dedans” is translated as “it smells nasty in here”.  Formerly I had understood “là-dedans” to mean in there.  Is it both or am I just wrong.  Sorry, I know this is getting off on a bit of a bunny trail...

merci d’avance!

Cécile

Kwiziq language super star

6 May 2018

6/05/18

Hi D,

Although technically 'là-dedans' would be 'in there', if you walked into someone's bedroom and it smelled bad you would use the same expression meaning 'in here'.

It seems a bit more flexible in French...

Hope this helps! 

DeAnna

Kwiziq community member

6 May 2018

6/05/18

Yes perfect!  Thanks much for the clarification!

Terri

Kwiziq community member

30 August 2017

2 replies

Under the 'Special Cases' section, ne pas sentir or ne sentir pas?

Under the 'Special Cases' section, one of the fixed expressions says '-ne pas sentir la rose...', but the examples have the ne ... pas surrounding sentir. Is there a time when it would be 'ne pas sentir ...', or is the expression written that way to show that it is literally 'to not smell'? Thank you for the clarification. Terri

Ron

Kwiziq community member

30 August 2017

30/08/17

Bonjour Terri, The ne pas + the infinitive is mostly seen as a literary structure. Here's an example with explanation: To negate an infinitive, you put the ne pas directly in front. To negate anything else, you put the ne...pas around the conjugated verb, either the auxiliary in compound verb tenses or moods like the passé composé, i.e. je n'ai pas mange and surrounding the verb in simple tenses like «Je ne mange pas» Vous devriez ne pas la connaître = You are negating the infinitive connaître --> to not know Vous ne devriez pas la connaître = You are negating the conjugated verb devriez --> should not So the first sentence says that it must be the case that you don't know her, while the second sentence says that it must not be the case that you do know her. J'espère que cela vous aiderait. Bonne chance,

Terri

Kwiziq community member

31 August 2017

31/08/17

Ron, Thanks. This makes it clear for me. Terri

Mehmet

Kwiziq community member

6 February 2017

2 replies

bonjour,

Mehmet

Kwiziq community member

6 February 2017

6/02/17

which level is this lesson?

Stuart

Kwiziq community member

17 September 2018

17/09/18

Posted by Aurélie DrouardIn: Level A1, Idioms, Idiomatic Usage, and Structures, Idiotisme

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