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I find that I use this expression a lot in English and I would like to know its counterpart in French.

Some alternatives I have been using:

  1. j'ai l'impression

  2. je pense que

However I would like to know whether a construction with the verb sentir is possible. It will be a more direct translation and easier to learn haha...

I want to say je sens que + (opinion) or je me sens que + (opinion) but I hesitate since I don't feel like I hear this expression very often from the French people around me :(

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  • J'ai le sentiment que etc. I have the feeling that etc.
    – Lambie
    Jul 27, 2023 at 18:21

2 Answers 2

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You can indeed use "Je sens que..." but it would be more a feeling than an opinion. "Je sens qu'il va pleuvoir" "I feel that it's going to rain" "Je sens que je vais être en retard" "I feel that I'm going to be late As you can see it is mainly used to express a feeling toward something that is going to happen...

On the other side, "Je me sens que..." doesn't exist, but you can use "Je me sens.." : - malade / fatigué / perdu dans cette ville (I feel like I'm lost in this city)

Hope it can help you

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    To express an opinion, there is a closer phrase: j'ai le sentiment que.
    – Greg
    Feb 17, 2018 at 11:12
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"Je sens que" has the peculiarity that it's most frequently used for negative things. That is either what you're expecting is formulated with a negative (je sens que ça ne va pas tarder, "I feel like it's coming up soon") or is something that would be bad if it's accurate (je sens qu'il me ment, "I feel he's lying to me").

It's not universal (cf. je sens que je progress, "I feel like I'm making progress), but searchig for "je sens que je/tu/il" etc. is pretty revealing.

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