Le pain chaud sent bon.

Yes. The verb sent comes from sentir, which can mean to smell or to feel depending on context.

In this sentence, sentir bon is a very common expression meaning:

• to smell good
• to have a nice smell

So Le pain chaud sent bon is the natural French way to say that warm bread has a pleasant smell.

Because bon is an adjective, and in sentir bon it describes the smell of the subject.

• bon = good
• bien = well

French says:

• Ça sent bon. = That smells good.
• Le pain chaud sent bon. = The warm bread smells good.

Using bien here would sound unnatural in standard French. This is one of those expressions you should learn as a set phrase: sentir bon.

Sent is the 3rd person singular present tense form of sentir.

Present tense:

• je sens
• tu sens
• il / elle / on sent
• nous sentons
• vous sentez
• ils / elles sentent

Since le pain chaud is singular, French uses sent.

In French, most adjectives come after the noun, and chaud usually does too.

So:

• le pain chaud = the warm bread / hot bread

Putting chaud before pain would sound unusual here. For a learner, the safest rule is:

• many common adjectives go after the noun
• chaud is normally one of them in this kind of phrase

It can depend on context.

French often uses the definite article le in places where English might use:

• the
• or no article at all

So Le pain chaud sent bon could mean:

• The warm bread smells good if you are talking about a particular loaf
• or something more general, depending on the situation

In a simple standalone sentence, many learners first understand it as the warm bread smells good, which is fine.

No, not exactly.

• Le pain chaud sent bon = the bread smells good
• Le pain chaud est bon = the bread is good / tastes good / is nice

So sent bon is specifically about the smell, while est bon is a broader judgment about the bread itself.

No. French pain is pronounced very differently.

Roughly:

• pain sounds like pɛ̃
• it has a nasal vowel, which English does not really have

Important points:

• the ai does not sound like English ay
• the final n is not fully pronounced like an English n
• instead, it helps make the vowel nasal

So pain does not sound like English pain.

A common pronunciation is approximately:

lə pɛ̃ ʃo sɑ̃ bɔ̃

Very roughly for an English speaker:

• le ≈ luh
• pain = nasal vowel, not pane
• chaud ≈ sho
• sent = sounds like san with a nasal vowel
• bon = nasal vowel again

Also:

• the final t in sent is silent
• the final consonants in chaud and bon are also not pronounced normally

Yes, definitely.

It is very common and very natural French. You will also hear:

• Ça sent bon. = That smells good.
• La cuisine sent bon. = The kitchen smells nice.
• Les fleurs sentent bon. = The flowers smell good.

So it is useful to learn sentir bon as a chunk, not just word by word.

Then the verb changes to the plural form sentent.

For example:

• Les pains chauds sentent bon. = The warm breads smell good.

So the pattern is:

• singular: Le pain chaud sent bon
• plural: Les pains chauds sentent bon

You can also see the agreement on:

• pain → pains
• chaud → chauds

Even though some final letters are silent, they still matter in writing.