Parecer

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