Today’s Spanish word of the day is “parecer”.
It’s a verb meaning “to seem” or “to look like”.
It shouldn’t be confused with the verb “aparecer”, which means “to appear” or “to turn up”.
Both “parecer” and “aparecer” derive from Latin parere, meaning “to beget” or “to bring forth”, which is also the root of the English word “appear”.
“Parecer” is an irregular verb that is conjugated according to the same pattern as “agradecer” (“to thank”). Here’s the conjugation in the present tense:
- Yo parezco – I look like
- Tú pareces – You look like (informal singular)
- Él/Ella/Usted parece – He/She looks like, You look like (formal singular)
- Nosotros/Nosotras parecemos – We look like
- Vosotros/Vosotras parecéis – You look like (informal plural, only used in Spain)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes parecen – They look like, You look like (plural)
Example sentences
Parece que va a llover.
It looks like it’s going to rain.
¿Qué te parece esta película?
What do you think of this movie?
No me parece justo.
It doesn’t seem fair to me.
La casa parece abandonada.
The house looks abandoned.
¿Te parece bien si cambiamos la fecha?
Is it ok for you if we change the date?
