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sentir le sapin

French, verb/sɑ̃.tiʁ lə sa.pɛ̃/

sentir le sapin is a French verb meaning “to be coming to an end; to have one foot in the grave; to be on one's last legs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Y avoir une impression que la mort ou la fin arrive”.

What does sentir le sapin mean in English?

verb

  1. 1

    to be coming to an end; to have one foot in the grave; to be on one's last legs

Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How French dictionaries define it

verb: 1. Y avoir une impression que la mort ou la fin arrive.

The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.

Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.

How do you pronounce sentir le sapin?

  • /sɑ̃.tiʁ lə sa.pɛ̃/
  • \sɑ̃.tiʁ lə sa.pɛ̃\

Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.