parecer
to seem
Reviewed by: David WestfallCofounder
To appear a certain way
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
appear
to come into view
+
-ecer
verb suffix
Parecer means to seem and shares its root with the English word appear0 — when something seems a certain way, it's appearing0 that way to you.
parecer
to seem, to look
When someone or something appears a certain way, they seem or look that way.
Pareces cansado. ¿Dormiste bien?You seem tired. Did you sleep well?
El proyecto parece difícil, pero no lo es.The project looks difficult, but it isn't.
to look like (resemblance)
When something appears similar to something else, it looks like it.
Mi gato parece un tigre pequeño.My cat looks like a small tiger.
parece que
it seems like, it looks like
Used impersonally when something appears to be the case — the situation itself is appearing a certain way.
Parece que va a llover.It looks like it's going to rain.
Parece que llegaron tarde.It seems like they arrived late.
parecerle
to think, to feel, to seem
When something appears a certain way to someone, they think or feel that way. The indirect object pronoun marks whose perspective it's appearing from.
Me parece que tiene razón.I think he's right.
¿Qué te parece la idea?What do you think of the idea?
parecerse a
to look like, to be like
The reflexive turns the appearing back on the subject — you are the one appearing similar to someone else, i.e. you look like them.
Te pareces mucho a tu madre.You look a lot like your mother.
Este sabor se parece al caramelo.This flavor is like caramel.
el parecer
opinion, view
Literally "the appearing," referring to how things appear to you, which is your opinion.
En mi parecer, la película fue excelente.In my opinion, the film was excellent.
Tu parecer es distinto al mío.Your view is different from mine.
al parecer
apparently, it seems
Literally "at the appearing" — used to indicate that something is the case based on how things appear.
Al parecer, no van a venir.Apparently, they're not coming.