The verb sentir and its reflexive form se sentir are used in a broad sense to express sensations (to smell good) or an overall feeling (to feel good).
Using "sentir" and "se sentir" in French
- sentir bon / mauvais (sensations)
This means to smell good / bad.
Note that, in the specific case of sentir, even though bon and mauvais are adjectives, these are fixed expressions, so bon and mauvais NEVER change (no agreement).
- se sentir bien / mal / mieux ... (overall feeling)
(literally to feel oneself) It means to feel good / well / fine / bad / better.
In this context, se sentir is identical in meaning to aller. See Expressing how you are with aller (Greetings in French).
e.g. Je vais bien. / Je me sens bien.
Se sentir can also be used with adjectives to express someone's overall impression of how they are, how they feel.
See also Describing senses with "sentir" - The different meanings of the verb "sentir" in French
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Examples and resources
Zoë feels unwell today.
