sentire

Sentire is an Italian verb with core meanings centered on perceiving through the senses and on emotional or intellectual awareness. It most often means to hear something, to feel a physical sensation, or to sense or understand a situation. It also covers news, impressions, or beliefs that one perceives or becomes aware of.

Etymology and cognates: Sentire derives from Latin sensire, from sensus, meaning to feel or perceive. It has cognates in other Romance languages, such as sentir in French, sentir in Spanish and Portuguese, and similar forms in related tongues, reflecting a common Latin root for sense and perception.

Conjugation and forms: Sentire is a regular -ire verb in Italian. In the present indicative the forms are: io sento, tu senti, lui/lei sente, noi sentiamo, voi sentite, loro sentono. The passato prossimo uses avere with the past participle sentito (e.g., ho sentito). Imperfect forms include sentivo, sentivi, sentiva, sentivamo, sentivate, sentivano. Future forms are sentirò, sentirai, sentirà, sentiremo, sentirete, sentiranno. The verb also appears in conjunctive forms: presente subjunctive sia, sia, sia, sentiamo, sentiate, sentano; imperfect subjunctive would be sentissi, sentisse, sentissimo, sentiste, sentissero. The past participle is sentito, and the gerund is sentendo.

Usage notes: Sentire takes a direct object when referring to hearing or feeling something physical (e.g., Io sento la porta; Ho sentito un rumore). It can express perception, awareness, or belief (e.g., Sento che qualcosa non va). Distinguish from ascoltare, which emphasizes attentive listening. The pronominal form sentirsi conveys a state of being or feeling, as in Mi sento bene, or Mi sento stanco.