Sentirse vs Sentarse: How to Use me siento, lo siento, and lo que siento

What’s the difference between me siento and lo siento? If you’ve ever wondered that, you’ve come to the right place for the answer! Plenty of Spanish verbs challenge our understanding and frustrate our journey to fluency, but learning to distinguish confusingly similar verbs and phrases is worth the headache! Spanish is a beautiful language with tricky intricacies that need a bit of further explanation, and I’m here to do that for you. Let’s take a closer look at the differences between the verbs sentarse and sentirse, revealing how and when to use them right. Next time you need to figure out whether to use me siento, lo siento, or lo que siento, you’ll be able to manage it like a pro! ¡Empecemos!

Similarity Between Sentarse and Sentirse: Me Siento

People confuse sentarse and sentirse because they’re written almost the same way, differing only by one letter. What’s more, in the singular present tense form, these verbs are homographs. This means that they’re written exactly the same way, but have different meanings.

• Me siento feliz. (I feel happy)
• Yo siempre me siento en esa silla. (I always sit on that chair)

How are you supposed to know which is which? I promise you’ll understand how to distinguish between the two by the end of this post, so let’s start with the meaning and uses of each one to gain a better understanding!

The Spanish Verb Sentirse

Sentirse is a reflexive, or pronominal version, of the verb sentir, which means “to feel.”

This verb expresses emotions you feel, as well as the texture of things, the temperature,  and more.

Verb Conjugations of Sentirse 

Here’s a table with the present, past and future tenses of this verb, check it out.

Example Sentences with Sentirse

Now, let’s check out some example sentences!

• (Yo) siento malestar estomacal (I feel a stomach ache).
• Cuéntame cómo te sentiste (tú) cuando anunciaron al ganador (Tell me how you felt when the winner was announced).
• Ella se sentirá muy contenta cuando vea lo que cocinaste (She will feel very happy when she sees what you cooked).
• (Nosotros) nos sentimos incómodos cada vez que vamos a ese restaurante (We feel uncomfortable every time we go to that restaurant).
• ¿(Vosotros) sentisteis el temblor? (Did you guys feel the tremor?)
• Estoy seguro de que (ustedes) se sentirán hambre después de la película (I’m sure you’ll feel hungry after the movie).

The Spanish Phrase Lo Siento

The phrase lo siento can be used in two different scenarios:

1. to say you’re sorry
2. to explain what you feel in your body 

For tons more details, read: Lo Siento! What It Really Means and How to Apologize in Spanish

Example Sentences with Lo Siento:

• Lo siento mucho mamá, no quise romper el florero (I’m so sorry mom, I didn’t want to break the vase).

In this example, lo siento refers to an apology. It’s not that you literally feel the vase, you just are sorry for what you did.

• ¡Creo que un gusano me está caminando por la espalda! Lo siento de mi lado derecho (I think a worm is walking down my back! I feel it on my right side).

In this case, you literally feel that something’s on your body. It’s not something regarding thoughts, but a physical feeling.

The Spanish Phrase Lo que Siento

This small phrase literally translates to “what I feel.” Read the following examples to see how this phrase is used in conversation:

• Tú no puedes decirme lo que siento, no lo entiendes (You can’t tell me what I feel, you don’t understand it).
• Sé que hemos tenido días duros, pero eso no cambia lo que siento por ti (I know we’ve had rough days, but that doesn’t change what I feel for you).
• Para mí es más fácil expresar lo que siento hablando de frente (It is easier for me to express what I feel by speaking head-on.  

The Spanish Verb Sentarse

The verb sentarse is a reflexive, or pronominal version, of the verb sentar, which means “to sit [on something].” You sit on a chair, on a couch, or on the floor, for example.

Verb Conjugations of Sentarse 

Check this table with the three basic tenses of this verb.

Example Sentences with Sentarse

• Cuando voy en el carro con mi mama, (yo) me siento en el sillón de enfrente (When I’m in the car with my mom, I sit in the front seat).
• (Tú) te sentaste en mi lugar (You sat on my seat).
• Usted siempre se sienta con las piernas cruzadas (You always sit with your legs crossed).
• (Nosotros) nos sentaremos en la primera fila de hoy en adelante, necesitamos poner más atención (We’ll sit on the front seats from now on, we need to pay more attention).
• Vosotras os sentasteis muy alejadas de todos (You girls sat far away from everyone).
• Ellos se sentarán del lado derecho del auditorio (They will sit on the right side of the auditorium).

How to Differentiate Me Siento

As you saw in the last table, siento has a direct object pronoun before it (me), which means it receives the action of the verb directly. This is the case of reflexive verbs too, whose action falls on the same subject that performs it.

As you saw on both tables, the first person present tense is the same (siento) and both can have a me before them. So, how do you differentiate them? It’s very simple, just pay close attention to the context. For example:

• No me siento bien (I don’t feel well)
  
  Context: Would it make sense to say “I don’t sit well”? Probably not. This sentence is referring to feelings.
• Cada vez que me siento en el suelo me duelen las rodillas (Everytime I sit on the floor my knees hurt).
  
  Context: When you hear a location after me siento—as in, en el suelo—you can be sure it’s in reference to sitting down! 

Wrap It Up! Example Conversation

Now that you know all of the meanings and differences between sentirse and sentarse, let’s practice the uses of lo siento, lo que siento, and me siento with a conversation between a mom and a daughter.

Hija: Mamá, no me siento bien, he estado de bajón últimamente (Mom, I don’t feel okay. I’ve been down lately).

Madre: ¿Por qué? ¿Qué ha pasado? (Why? What happened?)

Hija: Mi psicóloga me regañó, dice que nunca le digo lo que siento, y que si no lo hago no podrá ayudarme  (My psychologist scolded me, she says that I never tell her what I feel, and that if I don’t do it she won’t be able to help me).

Madre: ¿Y por qué no has podido decirle lo que sientes? (And why couldn’t you tell her how you feel?

Hija: No lo sé, cada vez que hablo de mí me siento vulnerable, y me cuesta mucho (I don’t know, everytime I talk about myself I feel vulnerable, and that’s very hard for me).

Madre: Debes entender que la vulnerabilidad no es mala, de hecho, nos ayuda a conectar mejor con las personas. Y si tu psicóloga te pide que abras tu corazón y le cuentes lo que sientes, es buena idea que empieces a hacerlo. Seguro te sentirás mejor (You must understand that vulnerability isn’t bad, in fact, it helps us to connect better with people. And if your psychologist asks you to open your heart and tell her what you feel, it’s a good idea to start doing it. You will surely feel better).

Hija: Tienes razón mamá, la próxima vez que la vea le diré que lo siento mucho por no hacer un esfuerzo, y que de ahora en adelante lo haré (You’re right mom, next time I see her I’ll tell her I’m sorry for not making and effort, and that from now on I will).

Madre: Me parece perfecto, estoy orgullosa de ti. Te quiero mucho (Sounds perfect to me, I’m very proud of you. Love you).

¡Siéntate y sigue aprendiendo!

See? It wasn’t that hard! Remember that Spanish can get a little tricky if you don’t constantly practice it, so join us at Homeschool Spanish Academy by signing up for a free trial class! Our native Spanish speakers will be happy to help you improve your speaking skills, polish your accent, and learn how to use sentirse and sentarse correctly. We hope to see you soon!

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Mariana Gómez

Freelance writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Industrial Psychology Student in Guatemala, lover of cultures, family, love and new experiences. Writing is the way I connect with the world and myself. My goal is to make of this world a better place, so I constantly get out of my comfort zone to achieve that. I strongly believe that “we ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop”.

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