The verb sentir and its reflexive form se sentir are used in a broad sense to express physical or emotional feelings (e.g. to smell good / to feel good).
Here is how to use them:
- sentir bon / mauvais (physical)
This means to smell good / bad.
Note that, in the specific case of sentir, even though bon and mauvais are adjectives, these are fixed expressions, so bon and mauvais NEVER change (no agreement).
Ces fleurs sentent bon.
These flowers smell good.
Mes chaussettes sentent très mauvais.
My socks smell very bad.
Ma fille ne sent pas bon aujourd'hui.
My daughter doesn't smell good today.
- se sentir bien / mal / mieux ... (emotional)
(literally to feel oneself) It means to feel good / well / fine / bad / better.
In this context, se sentir is identical in meaning to aller. See Expressing how you are with aller (greetings).
e.g. Je vais bien. / Je me sens bien.
Je me sens super bien aujourd'hui !
I feel great today!
Comment est-ce que vous vous sentez ce matin ?
How do you feel this morning?
Mon fils était malade, mais il se sent mieux maintenant.
My son was ill, but he feels better now.
Zoë se sent mal aujourd'hui.
Zoë feels ill today.
Zoë feels unwell today.
Se sentir can also be used with adjectives to express someone's impression of how they are, how they feel.
Il n'est pas seul, mais il se sent seul.
He is not alone, but he feels lonely.
Ils se sentent un peu déprimés ces jours-ci.
They feel a bit depressed these days.
Je me sens en pleine forme ce matin.
I feel healthy/fit this morning.
See also Using 'sentir' to describe senses
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Je me sens super bien aujourd'hui !
I feel great today!
Mon fils était malade, mais il se sent mieux maintenant.
My son was ill, but he feels better now.
Je me sens en pleine forme ce matin.
I feel healthy/fit this morning.
Ces fleurs sentent bon.
These flowers smell good.
Comment est-ce que vous vous sentez ce matin ?
How do you feel this morning?
Zoë se sent mal aujourd'hui.
Zoë feels ill today.
Zoë feels unwell today.
Il n'est pas seul, mais il se sent seul.
He is not alone, but he feels lonely.
Ils se sentent un peu déprimés ces jours-ci.
They feel a bit depressed these days.
Mes chaussettes sentent très mauvais.
My socks smell very bad.
Ma fille ne sent pas bon aujourd'hui.
My daughter doesn't smell good today.
Q&A
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
5/01/18
Technically you could indeed, though it wouldn't be a very natural way to say this :)
As a native speaker, I'd rather say:
I have a good sense of smell.
Je sens bien can also mean I feel well, in a tactile sense:
Do you feel it?
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !
Colleen
Kwiziq community member
3 January 2018
2 replies
It smells good?
I know it seems a small question in the great scheme of things, but how would you say, « It smells good ». Would it be ce sent bon? Trying to think of a conversation opening sentence when I visit the local market :-)
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
3/01/18
Bonjour Colleen!
There's no such thing as a small question :)
You would say "Ça sent bon."
Here's a link to our lesson on ça:
https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/revision/grammar/ca-means-that-this-or-it-pronoun
Bonne visite au marché !
Colleen
Kwiziq community member
5/01/18
Lisa
Kwiziq community member
16 July 2017
3 replies
Instead of sens bon I answered Je sens la rose. I thought that was right.....?
I expect not!
Ron
Kwiziq community member
16/07/17
Je sens la rose = I smell the rose on the other hand La rose sent bon = the rose smells good
I hope that helps
Lisa
Kwiziq community member
16/07/17
I appreciate your answer. However there is a fixed case for sens la rose.
https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/my-languages/french/view/4733?rts=%252Fsearch%253Fs%253DSentir
So I think I should not have been marked wrong!
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
17/07/17
The meaning is indeed there, however "je sens la rose" is a figurative expression, which you wouldn't really translate by the plain equivalent "I smell good", but by a similarly visual image (like heaven, like roses...).
The neutral way to express "I smell good" is "Je sens bon" :)
In the same way, you would translate "it's raining cats and dogs" by the simple "il pleut", but rather the equivalent colloquial expression "il pleut des cordes".
Bonne journée !
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
28/05/17
In fact, even though it's often said, "I feel badly" is grammatically incorrect. "I feel bad" has both of the meanings you describe, as does Je me sens mal.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/do-you-feel-bad-or-feel-badly
Emily
Kwiziq community member
29/05/17
"I feel badly" in English would refer to not being able to feel well, as in your sense of touch doesn't work well. I'm not sure if it translates into French similarly.
Ron
Kwiziq community member
31/05/17
Mauvais Mal
adjective bad (with noun) bad (with copular verb)
adverb bad badly
noun bad part evil(s)
Let's take a look at this sentence:
C' est un mode de traitement souvent mal supporté , du fait de la toxicité des médicaments anticancéreux pour les tissus sains.
Salomon, Jean-Claude Le tissu déchiré. Propos sur la diversité des cancers
Mal in this sentence is an adverbe translated as badley supported.
Malade on the other hand, is used either as an adjective or as a noun.
Now looking at the lesson, - se sentir bien / mal / mieux ... (emotional)
(literally to feel oneself) It means to feel good / well / fine / bad / better.
In this case, bien, mal and mieux are used as adverbes.
I hope this helps,
Ron
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
15/05/17
Bonne journée !
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
27/09/16
Susan
Kwiziq community member
27/09/16
Joakim
Kwiziq community member
17 March 2016
2 replies
Agreement bon/mauvais
Exacrly when is it that bon and mauvais should not agree withe subject? If only when used with sentir, please make that more explicit (e.g "c'est une bonne voiture")
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
17/03/16
Thanks for your comment, we will make this clearer in the lesson.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
17/03/16
Bonjour Joakim !
The lesson has now been updated to remove any ambiguity.
Please have a look: https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/revision/grammar/how-to-use-sentir-bon-versus-se-sentir-bien
A Bientôt !
Shruti
Kwiziq community member
3 March 2018
2 replies
Les roses sentent bon. C’est Correct
Chris
Kwiziq community member
5 March 2018
5/03/18
Yes, that seems correct. It means the roses smell good.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
5 March 2018
5/03/18