sentir in real spoken French
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Gut feelings and bad vibes.
Real spoken French
« Je le sens pas » — I have a bad feeling about it — is constant in spoken French, about plans, people and decisions. The ne is gone, and the le refers to the whole situation, not a person.
Its positive is « je le sens bien ». And « ça sent le… » predicts an outcome: « ça sent la défaite » — this smells like a defeat.
💡 Focus at this level: Native slang
👨🏫 How to use « sentir » at this level
1. « Je le sens pas » = bad feeling. Learn it now.
2. « Ça sent le… » predicts. Often about sport and weather.
3. « Ça sent bon / mauvais » works literally and figuratively.
Je le sens pas, ce truc.I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Je le sens bien !I’ve got a good feeling about it!
Ça sent la pluie.It smells like rain.
Ça sent mauvais pour lui.Things look bad for him.
🎮 Practise « sentir »
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