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Goûter or sentir: taste it, smell it or say how you feel

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Practise goûter, sentir and se sentir with kitchen examples, present-tense forms, picture cards and a quiz on four common sensory-verb mistakes.

In short

Use goûter to taste food and sentir to smell it: Je goûte la soupe. Elle sent bon. For your own state, use se sentir: Je me sens bien means “I feel well”. Le goûter is also the afternoon snack.

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An adult cook tastes soup from a small spoon in a calm French kitchen, a freshly baked tart cooling nearby, whole figure seen at a distance.
The cook says je goûte la soupe. Illustration: Atelier
  • goûter une sauceto smell a sauceto taste a sauce

    Je goûte la sauce avant d’ajouter du sel.I taste the sauce before adding salt.

    For smelling it, say sentir la sauce.

  • Cette tarte sent bon.This tart tastes good.This tart smells good.

    La tarte sent bon dans toute la cuisine.The tart smells good throughout the kitchen.

    For flavour, say Cette tarte a bon goût.

  • Je me sens fatiguée.I smell tired.I feel tired.

    Après le voyage, je me sens fatiguée.After the journey, I feel tired.

    Keep me for your state; fatiguée agrees with a woman speaking.

  • le goûterthe sense of tastethe afternoon snack

    Le goûter est prêt : il y a du pain et du chocolat.The afternoon snack is ready: there is bread and chocolate.

    The sense of taste is le goût. The article le marks the snack noun.

Taste and smell: four kitchen words

What is the difference between goûter and sentir?

Three patterns and two verbs
SubjectTastingSmellingFeeling well
jeje goûteje sensje me sens bien
tutu goûtestu senstu te sens bien
il / elleil goûte / elle goûteil sent / elle sentil se sent bien / elle se sent bien
nousnous goûtonsnous sentonsnous nous sentons bien
vousvous goûtezvous sentezvous vous sentez bien
ils / ellesils goûtent / elles goûtentils sentent / elles sententils se sentent bien / elles se sentent bien

Tu veux goûter ce fromage ? and Tu veux goûter à ce fromage ? both invite someone to try the cheese. With a food as subject, use avoir un goût de to name its flavour: Cette glace a un goût de vanille. In La tarte sent bon, bon stays unchanged.

Je sens le froid sur mes mains.

I can feel the cold on my hands.

Sentir also describes sensations beyond smell. Here the object is the cold.

Question 1No account needed
You try a spoonful to check the salt.Je ___ la soupe.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

goûte. Taking a spoonful to check the flavour is tasting: je goûte.

Question 2No account needed
Keep the correct form after a feminine subject.Cette tarte sent ___.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

bon. Bon describes how the tart smells and stays unchanged after sentir.

Question 3No account needed
A woman says she feels relaxed.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Je me sens détendue.. Use the reflexive me, the form sens, and feminine détendue.

Question 4No account needed
What is ready in Le goûter est prêt?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

The afternoon snack.. With the article le, goûter names the afternoon snack here.

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