# FR: sentir le/du parfum - to smell (of) something



## Charlie Parker

I don't know how to distinguish these two ideas in French.
1. "She smells perfume (perhaps she is allergic to it)"
2. "She smells of perfume (she likes it and has just put some on)"
_1. Elle sent le parfum._
_2. Elle sent du parfum ou Elle dégage le parfum._
Merci d'avance


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## DearPrudence

Would the thread "it smells of roses" help?
For me: 
*"she smells of perfume"* is definitely:
*"Elle sent le parfum"*
No problem, no "de" I assure you (nobody believes me )

The other too but I guess there must be another way like *"elle renifle/hume le parfum"*. I guess the distinction is made with the context.

Attendons d'autres avis


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## tilt

_Elle sent le parfum_ means she put some perfume on.
To say there is a smell of perfume in the air that she smells, we would say _Elle sent une odeur de parfum_.
If she opens a bottle of perfume to test its smell, we would say _Elle sent l'odeur du parfum_.
(tricky ones, huh! )

_Elle sent du parfum_ and _Elle dégage le parfum_ are not proper French.
You might say _Elle dégage/répand une odeur de parfum_, but it sounds odd, or pejorative.


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## Charlie Parker

Merci Dear Prudence. Yes, that thread is definitely helpful. Alors, tout dépend du contexte?
_Elle sent le parfum_ "She smells of perfume" Could it also mean "She smells the perfume (of another woman). Or would I use another verb like _renifler ou humer? _Actully, I'm not sure _renifler _would be suitable. That means, according to my dictionary, "to sniff." That would almost imply that she goes up to another woman and puts her nose right up to and sniffs. I'm thinking of someone smelling something. Let's say a woman walks into a room and she smells perfume. That is, she is aware (or senses) the smell of perfume in the air. Could one simply say _Elle sent le parfum? _Or would that be confusing? Would one rather say _Elle sent l'odeur du parfum dans la pièce. _Merci. Vous êtes très généreuse de votre temps.


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## Charlie Parker

Merci beacoup tilt. Ça m'éclaircit.


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## tilt

_Humer_ is a good verb to mean smell in the sense of testing with the nose, but it sounds quite formal.


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## DearPrudence

I completely agree with everything Titl said.
I just suggested "humer/renifler" because English-speakers do insist on having 2 different sentences but personally I'm not convinced at all.


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## Charlie Parker

Dear Prudence, thank you for your patience. I don't need to insist on anything. I want to learn to speak French the way the French do. I'm happy to accept some ambiguity. When you say that you are not convinced, do you mean that you would accept _Elle sent le parfum _as having two meanings depending on context? So that sentence could mean either: "She smells of perfume (because she has just put some on)" or
"She smells perfume (because someone else is wearing some and she smells it in the air)" Have I got the right idea?


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## tilt

Charlie Parker said:


> Dear Prudence, thank you for your patience. I don't need to insist on anything. I want to learn to speak French the way the French do. I'm happy to accept some ambiguity. When you say that you are not convinced, do you mean that you would accept _Elle sent le parfum _as having two meanings depending on context? So that sentence could mean either: "She smells of perfume (because she has just put some on)" or
> "She smells perfume (because someone else is wearing some and she smells it in the air)" Have I got the right idea?


Yes, you have.


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## Charlie Parker

Merci tilt.


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## Charlie Parker

Huit ans plus tard, il me vient un autre exemple. La police tient un barrage routier contre l'alcool au volant. Un agent demande à un automobiliste s'il a bu. Celui-ci dit non, mais le policier croit qu'il sent une odeur d'alcool dans son haleine. En anglais, c'est très facile à dire : "The officer smells alcohol. The driver smells of alcohol."  J'imagine qu'il y a beaucoup de possibilités en français, mais j'essaie d'exprimer l'idée aussi simplement que possible : « Le policier sent une odeur d'alcool. Le conducteur sent l'alcool. » Que diriez-vous ?


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## Lacuzon

Bonjour Charlie,

J'ai bien peur qu'en français le verbe sentir soit ambivalent, comme le verbe apprendre. Le policer sent l'alcool (de l'haleine du conducteur) et le conducteur sent l'alcool. Tu peux dire aussi pour lever l'ambiguïté : le conducteur dégage une odeur d'alcool, le conducteur empeste l'alcool (son haleine pour être précis), le policier détecte/remarque une odeur d'alcool.

Le policier sent une odeur d'alcool est ambivalent, ce pourrait être lui ou un autre. Seul le contexte pourra lever l'ambiguïté.


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## Maître Capello

À noter qu'au passé l'ambiguïté est souvent levée étant donné que le temps employé est généralement différent.

_Le policier *sentit* l'alcool_.
_Le conducteur *sentait* l'alcool_.


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