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'Sa di fragola': how Italian says what things smell and taste of

In English, things smell like coffee or taste like lemon. Italian normally says they smell or taste of something, using di followed by the name of the smell or flavour: odora di caffè, sa di limone, puzza di fumo. This small preposition is where many English speakers go wrong. They translate like word for word and produce sentences such as sa come limone, which sounds odd to an Italian ear.

The verbs in this group are odorare (to smell of), sapere (to taste of) and puzzare (to stink of). Once you connect them with di, a lot of everyday descriptions of food, homes and clothes become easy.

Word list
odorareB1 to smell odora di caffè = it smells of coffee sapereB1 to taste sa di fragola = it tastes of strawberry puzzareB2 to stink puzza di fumo = it stinks of smoke
How it works

The structure is simple: the thing that has the smell or flavour is the subject, then comes the verb, then di, then the smell or flavour itself. You are naming a type of smell or taste, so the noun is usually used without an article: di fragola, di cloro, di pesce. An adjective can follow it without changing anything: di pane fresco.

Questo gelato sa di fragola.
(This ice cream tastes of strawberry.)
La casa odora di pane fresco.
(The house smells of fresh bread.)

Rule of thumb: whenever English says smells like or tastes like followed by a kind of food, material or substance, Italian uses di, not come.

The words

Sapere is the same verb as to know, but with di it means to taste of. You will mostly meet it in the third person: sa di, sanno di. It is very common in the kitchen and at the table.

Quest'acqua sa di cloro.
(This water tastes of chlorine.)
Questa minestra non sa di niente.
(This soup doesn't taste of anything.)

In everyday speech sapere di is also used for smells, especially in set phrases like sa di chiuso (it smells stuffy).

Odorare describes a smell in a neutral way. In daily conversation Italians also use profumare di for pleasant smells and avere odore di, both with the same di.

Le lenzuola odorano di lavanda.
(The sheets smell of lavender.)

Puzzare is for bad smells only, and it is quite strong, like English to stink.

La giacca puzza di fumo.
(The jacket stinks of smoke.)
Il frigo puzza di pesce.
(The fridge stinks of fish.)
Watch out
Come is not forbidden

Use come when you really compare one thing with another specific thing, just as in English.

Questo profumo odora come quello di mia madre.
(This perfume smells like my mother's.)
Not always without an article

If you mean one particular thing rather than a type of smell, di can combine with an article: sa del caffè di casa (it tastes of the coffee we make at home).

Adjectives need a different pattern

To say that something smells or tastes good, strange or bad, use avere un odore or avere un sapore with an adjective, not di.

La torta ha un sapore strano.
(The cake tastes strange.)
Smelling something yourself is different

When a person notices a smell, Italian uses sentire. The phrase sentire odore di also contains di, but here the subject is the person who smells, not the thing that gives off the smell.

Sento odore di bruciato.
(I can smell burning.)
Summary

When something smells or tastes of a particular thing, Italian uses the verb plus di and usually a noun without an article: odora di caffè, sa di fragola, puzza di fumo. Save come for real comparisons with a specific thing, and use avere un odore or avere un sapore plus an adjective to say how something smells or tastes.