How to Say "To Smell" in French

sentir

/sɑ̃.tiʁ/

To smell in French is sentir.

The verb sentir is used both for the act of perceiving a scent and for an object emitting a scent.

Which one should you use?

The verb sentir covers both the subject perceiving a smell and the object that smells.

sentir is a regular -ir verb in its conjugation patterns.

The word has two syllables and is pronounced /sɑ̃.tiʁ/.

To specify that something smells bad without using an adjective, a French speaker might simply say ça sent, which implies a foul odor.
In French, sentir can mean 'to feel' in an emotional or physical sense, such as se sentir bien for 'feeling good'.
The phrase sentir le roussi literally means 'to smell burning', but it is used idiomatically to mean that a situation is starting to look dangerous.

Je commence à sentir que quelque chose déconne.
I'm beginning to smell a rat.
This sentence uses sentir to express the idiomatic sense of sensing that something is wrong.
Tatoeba #2576401 by sacredceltic, translation #2543034 by CK
Le poisson mort sur la plage commence à sentir.
The dead fish on the beach are starting to smell.
This sentence uses sentir to describe an object emitting an odor.
Tatoeba #8403252 by Aiji, translation #4498709 by CK
Ce chien est entraîné à sentir l'odeur de la drogue.
This dog is trained to smell out drugs.
This sentence uses sentir to describe the act of detecting a specific scent.
Tatoeba #663864 by U2FS, translation #59417 by CK
Je sens une agréable fragrance
I smell a pleasant fragrance
Elle perçoit les odeurs avec précision
She perceives smells with precision
Ils reniflent les fleurs pour en apprécier le parfum
They sniff the flowers to appreciate their scent
Ça moufète dans cette étable !
It smells strong in this barn!
Ça sent bon le café fraîchement moulu
It smells like freshly ground coffee
Elle sent comme une prairie printanière
She smells like a spring meadow
2 more sentences on Tatoeba

Léa and Hugo are in the kitchen while cooking.

Léa

Tu sens cette odeur de cannelle ?
Do you smell this cinnamon scent?
Hugo

Oui, ça sent très bon ici.
Yes, it smells very good in here.
Léa

C'est le gâteau que je prépare.
It's the cake I am making.
Hugo

Je vais venir sentir de plus près !
I am going to come smell it more closely!

Sources

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