French word

renifler

Pronunciation

IPA/ʁənifle/

Meaning

  • verbsniff

Example

Le chien renifle la main du visiteur.

The dog sniffs the visitor's hand.

Illustration for renifler (sniff)

More examples

Il renifle une odeur de brûlé.

He sniffs out the smell of burning.

Core concept

Brief breaths drawn through the nose while checking what a smell reveals.

Common phrases

  • renifler un parfum

    sniff a perfume

  • renifler une odeur

    sniff out an odor

Similar words

sentir: Sensing an odor through the nose.
flairer: Using the nose to trace a smell back to its source.
humer: Taking slow breaths through the nose to smell something.

Definition in French

Aspirer de l'air par le nez de façon brève ou répétée pour percevoir une odeur.

Word origin

Renifler developed in French from a sound-symbolic base, renifl-, referring to nasal sniffing and its characteristic sound.

Usage tips

  • Renifler can describe people as well as animals, but for a person it may suggest noisy sniffing or a mocking attitude depending on context.

Other meanings

  • sniffleverb
  • sniff outverb

Related words

  • reniflementthe act of sniffingnoun

Word lists with this word