Sentir vs. Sentir-se: Talk About Feelings and Sensations — Practice

Use sentir with a sensation, emotion, or thing you notice

Sentir can mean feel, sense, or experience. It takes a direct object when you name what is felt: sentir frio, sentir medo, sentir saudade.

The verb also means sense or notice: senti um cheiro estranho (I noticed a strange smell). Sinto muito is a fixed expression for an apology or sympathy.

Use sentir-se to describe your state

Sentir-se + adjective describes a person’s state or emotion: sinto-me cansado or me sinto cansado (I feel tired). In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, the pronoun commonly comes before the verb: me sinto bem.

Not every English ‘feel’ sentence needs sentir-se. For a sensation such as cold, Brazilian speakers commonly say estou com frio. Learn each frequent pattern in context.

Remember: Sentir often takes what you feel as its object: sentir medo. Sentir-se describes someone’s state: me sinto confiante. Some sensations use patterns such as estar com frio.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I feel cold when it rains.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Sinto frio quando chove.

2. She missed her friends.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela sentiu saudade dos amigos.

3. I noticed a noise in the hallway.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Senti um barulho no corredor.

4. Today I feel more confident.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Hoje eu me sinto mais confiante.

5. After the walk, she felt tired.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Depois da caminhada, ela se sentiu cansada.

6. How are you feeling?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Como você está se sentindo?

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Sentir often takes what you feel as its object: sentir medo. Sentir-se describes someone’s state: me sinto confiante. Some sensations use patterns such as estar com frio.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Sentir vs. Sentir-se: Talk About Feelings and Sensations lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.