sentí
/senti/from spelling rules
The English phrase "I felt" is translated into Spanish as sentí.
sentí is used to express the past tense of feeling a physical sensation or an emotion. To emphasize that you experienced a particular feeling in a more formal context, you can use experimenté. If you wish to convey a sense of perception or awareness of how you sensed a particular emotion, you might use percibí.
What does it mean word for word?
sentí is the first-person singular preterite indicative of the verb sentir.
Which one should you use?
sentí is used when a feeling occurred at a specific point in time or was a completed event. In contrast, the form sentía is used for background descriptions, habitual feelings or to express "I was feeling" or "I used to feel".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, me encontré might be used instead of me sentí.
How does it change in a sentence?
sentí refers to a specific completed action or moment in the past. Use the imperfect form sentía when you want to describe an ongoing state or a continuous feeling in the past.
How do you pronounce it?
/senti/
Did you know?
- If you want to say 'I felt like' in the sense of 'I was in the mood for', you cannot use sentir. Instead, Spanish speakers often use the expression me dieron ganas de which translates to 'desires were given to me'.
- In some Latin American countries, you might hear people say sentir to mean 'to smell' something, such as 'sentí un olor extraño' for 'I smelled a strange odor'.
- Spanish has a separate verb, sentarse, which looks almost identical to sentir but means 'to sit down'.
Examples in context
- Lo sentí por él.I felt sorry for him.This sentence shows how to use sentí to express feeling sorry for someone.Tatoeba #2470823 by Shishir, translation #2470153 by Hybrid
- Sé lo que sentí.I know what I felt.This sentence illustrates the use of sentí to describe what was felt.Tatoeba #4554884 by swyter, translation #2376273 by CK
- Yo sentí lo mismo.I felt the same way.This sentence demonstrates using sentí to express feeling the same way.Tatoeba #1619817 by Shishir, translation #1582008 by Spamster
- Sentí una gran tristeza al enterarme de su partida.I felt great sadness upon learning about their departure.
- Experimenté una profunda alegría al recibir la buena noticia.I experienced profound joy upon receiving the good news.
- Sentía mucho cariño por mi abuela.I felt a lot of affection for my grandmother.
- Me sentí muy emocionado al verla después de tanto tiempo.I felt very excited upon seeing her after such a long time.
- Me puse muy nervioso cuando me enteré de que tenía que dar un discurso.I felt very nervous when I found out I had to give a speech.
- Me sentí como un niño en Navidad.I felt like a child on Christmas.
- Me encontré muy triste después de la noticia.I felt very sad after the news.
- 150 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía are talking about a sudden change in weather.
- AlejandroSentí un viento muy frío de repente.I felt a very cold wind suddenly.
- LucíaYo también lo sentí hace un momento.I felt it too a moment ago.
- AlejandroCreo que va a empezar a llover.I think it is going to start raining.
- LucíaTienes razón, mejor entramos a la casa.You are right, we should go inside the house.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
