Sentirse Examples, Sentences and Quiz
Sentirse means “to feel”, and it is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Sentirse means to feel, and it is used for how you feel physically and emotionally: sentirse bien, sentirse mal, sentirse cansado, sentirse feliz. It is a stem-changing verb, e to ie in the present and e to i in the preterite third person and the gerund, so it rewards careful study. This page shows sentirse in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Yo me siento bien después de descansar.” — I feel well after resting.
Sentirse in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how sentirse is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use sentirse in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Me siento bien después de descansar.” — I feel well after resting.
“¿Tú te sientes cansado después del trabajo?” — Do you feel tired after work?
“Se siente feliz con la noticia.” — He/she feels happy with the news.
“Nos sentimos mal con el frío.” — We feel unwell in the cold.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show sentirse in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo me sentí bien después de descansar.” — Yesterday, I felt well after resting. (preterite)
“Él se sentía cansado después del trabajo todos los días.” — He used to feel tired after work every day. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of sentirse stays the same.
“Nosotros nos sentiremos feliz con la noticia mañana.” — We will feel happy with the news tomorrow. (future)
“¿Te has sentido mal con el frío?” — Have you felt unwell in the cold? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Os sentís bien después de descansar.” — You feel well after resting.
“Se sienten cansado después del trabajo.” — They feel tired after work.
“Me siento feliz con la noticia.” — I feel happy with the news.
“Se siente mal con el frío.” — He/she feels unwell in the cold.
Sentirse in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how sentirse appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Lucía: “¿Tú te sientes bien después de descansar?” — Do you feel well after resting?
Carlos: “Sí, yo me siento bien después de descansar.” — Yes, I feel well after resting.
Lucía: “Nosotros nos sentimos cansado después del trabajo.” — We feel tired after work.
Carlos: “Y ellos se sienten feliz con la noticia.” — And they feel happy with the news.
Lucía: “Vosotros os sentís mal con el frío.” — You feel unwell in the cold.
Carlos: “Sí, y él se siente cansado después del trabajo.” — Yes, and he feels tired after work.
A short paragraph
Lucía se siente bien después de descansar, y Carlos se siente cansado después del trabajo. Nosotros nos sentimos feliz con la noticia, y ellos se sienten mal con el frío. Yo me siento feliz con la noticia, y mi padre se siente mal con el frío. Sentirse is part of everyday life, because to feel is something Spanish speakers do again and again, in every tense and every situation.
Common mistakes with sentirse
These are the errors learners actually make with sentirse. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo siento bien después de descansar.” Right: “Yo me siento bien después de descansar.” Why: Sentirse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
Wrong: “Yo sento cansado después del trabajo.” Right: “Yo siento cansado después del trabajo.” Why: Sentirse is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural. The nosotros form keeps the original stem.
Wrong: “Treating sentirse and sentir as identical in every context.” Right: “Sentirse means to feel, while sentir means to feel something, not yourself.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: sentirse fits sentences such as Me siento bien después de descansar, while sentir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy sentido cansado después del trabajo.” Right: “Yo he sentido cansado después del trabajo.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he sentido, has sentido, ha sentido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo sentí feliz con la noticia todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo sentía feliz con la noticia todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (sentía), not the preterite. The preterite (sentí) is for one finished action.
Quiz: sentirse in use
Ten questions on sentirse in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ bien después de descansar.” (Well after resting.)
- (a) os sentís
- (b) me siento
- (c) te sientes
Answer: os sentís — The vosotros/as form of sentirse in the present is os sentís.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ cansado después del trabajo.” (Tired after work.)
- (a) me siento
- (b) te sientes
- (c) se sienten
Answer: se sienten — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of sentirse in the present is se sienten.
3. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ bien después de descansar.” (Well after resting.)
- (a) se sintió
- (b) me sentí
- (c) te sentiste
Answer: me sentí — The yo form of sentirse in the preterite is me sentí.
4. Complete the sentence: “Él ______ cansado después del trabajo.” (Tired after work.)
- (a) se sentía
- (b) me sentía
- (c) te sentías
Answer: se sentía — The él/ella/Ud. form of sentirse in the imperfect is se sentía.
5. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ feliz con la noticia.” (Happy with the news.)
- (a) me sentiré
- (b) te sentirás
- (c) nos sentiremos
Answer: nos sentiremos — The nosotros/as form of sentirse in the future is nos sentiremos.
6. What does sentirse mean in English?
- (a) to get undressed
- (b) to feel
- (c) to feel something, not yourself
Answer: to feel — Sentirse means “to feel”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo me siento bien después de descansar.
- (b) Ellos siente bien después de descansar.
- (c) Yo me siento cansado después del trabajo ayer.
Answer: Yo me siento bien después de descansar. — “Yo me siento bien después de descansar.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I feel well after resting.” in Spanish?
- (a) Yo se sienten bien después de descansar.
- (b) Yo me sentí bien después de descansar.
- (c) Yo me siento bien después de descansar.
Answer: Yo me siento bien después de descansar. — “Yo me siento bien después de descansar.” is the correct translation. The second option uses the wrong person's form, and the third uses the preterite.
9. What is the nosotros form of sentirse in the present tense?
- (a) te sientes
- (b) nos sentimos
- (c) me siento
Answer: nos sentimos — The nosotros form is nos sentimos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Ayer, yo me sentí bien después de descansar.
- (b) Nosotros nos sentiremos bien después de descansar mañana.
- (c) Yo me siento bien después de descansar.
Answer: Yo me siento bien después de descansar. — “Yo me siento bien después de descansar.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I feel' in Spanish?
Say 'Yo me siento bien después de descansar'. The complement follows directly, as in the examples above. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Yo me siento bien después de descansar todos los días'.
How do you say 'I feel' in the past?
For one finished action, say 'Ayer, yo me sentí cansado después del trabajo'. For a repeated habit, say 'Yo me sentía cansado después del trabajo todos los días'. For something already done, say 'Yo me he sentido cansado después del trabajo'.
What is the difference between sentirse and sentir?
Sentirse means to feel, while sentir means to feel something, not yourself. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use sentirse when you mean to feel, as in Me siento bien después de descansar.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of sentirse — every tense of sentirse in one place.
- Sentirse in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on sentirse and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of sentirse until they are automatic.