Parecer vs Parecerse: Learn these verbs for appearances

While learning Spanish, we often come across verbs that are very similar but which have different meanings and uses. Verbs like acordar vs acordarse, encontrar vs encontrarse, and llevar vs llevarse are good examples. Parecer vs parecerse are in this same category.

At first glance, parecer and parecerse may seem almost identical. In fact, they have different meanings and are used for distinct purposes. The best translations for parecer are to seem or to appear, while our best parecerse translations are to resemble or to look like.

In this post, we will break down all the differences between parecer and parecerse. We’ll start with our parecer meanings, introducing various expressions that are built around it. Then we’ll get into our pareserse meanings and usages. As always, we’ll provide plenty of examples to show parecer vs parecerse used in context, along with clear explanations of the grammar behind each use.

Now let’s get started!

What does Parecer mean in Spanish?

The easiest translations of parecer are to seem or to appear, It’s used to express someone’s emotions, perceptions, or impressions about something, describing their subjective judgment.

Parecer is an irregular -er verb. Let’s see its conjugations in the present tense.

Subject	Parecer
yo	parezco
tú	pareces
él, ella, usted	parece
nosotros, nosotras	parecemos
vosotros, vosotras	parecéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes	parecen

Like in English when you use to seem or to appear, we generally conjugate parecer to match whatever is being perceived. So just as you would say “it seems to me,” we also often use the indirect object pronouns in Spanish to indicate who is doing the perceiving. This pronoun indicating whose opinion is being shared is usually optional, however, since it’s implied.

• It seems to me that it’s going to rain. – Me parece que va a llover.

• They seem angry today. – Ellos parecen enojados hoy.

• The beach seems dangerous today because of the storm. – La playa parece peligrosa hoy por la tormenta.

Common Parecer phrases

In the next sections, we’ll explore some of the most frequently used expressions that are built around the verb parecer.

¿Qué te parece …? – What do you think about …?

We use ¿que te parece? when asking for someone’s opinion or feedback about something. Qué is the question word meaning how or what, so a literal translation of this question could be how does … appear to you?

• What do you think of this book? – ¿Qué te parece este libro?

• What does she think of the movie? – ¿Qué le parece a ella la película?

Parece mentira – It seems unbelievable

Parece mentira is used in Spanish to express disbelief or surprise about a situation. If we follow it directly with a statement, the statement is conjugated in the indicative mood. When we introduce the next statement with parece mentira que, it’s conjugated in the subjunctive.

• It seems unbelievable how quickly children grow. – Parece mentira lo rápido que crecen los niños.

• It seems unbelievable that ten years have passed since our last trip. – Parece mentira que hayan pasado diez años desde nuestro último viaje.

Parece que fue ayer – It feels like it was yesterday

When expressing that something feels recent, even if it happened a long time ago, parece que fue ayer is the perfect phrase in Spanish. It is a nostalgic expression used to reflect on past events that feel recent despite the time that has passed. Since we’re sharing memories and past experiences, we use the Spanish preterite with this phrase.

• It feels like it was yesterday when we met at university. – Parece que fue ayer cuando nos conocimos en la universidad.

• It feels like it was yesterday when we went to the Coldplay concert in London. – Parece que fue ayer cuando fuimos al concierto de Coldplay en Londres.

Parece ser – It seems to be

Parece ser translates as it seems to be, it appears to be, or it looks like. This is a versatile phrase used in formal contexts or daily conversations to say that something seems to be true while allowing some room for doubt.

• The economy appears to be improving. – Parece ser que la economía está mejorando.

• Stress seems to be the new standard in today’s workplace. – El estrés parece ser la norma en los lugares de trabajo actuales.

• It looks like it’s going to rain this afternoon. – Parece ser que va a llover esta tarde.

No me parece – It doesn’t seem to me

No me parece can mean it doesn’t seem to me or I don’t think so, depending on the context. Whether used to refer to a particular situation, idea, or statement, no me parece is a straightforward and powerful phrase that expresses disagreement, doubt, or a difference in opinion. It’s a soft phrase that allows us to express our perspectives politely and concisely.

Like parece mentira, the clause that follows no me parece is conjugated in the indicative, while we follow no me parece que with the subjunctive.

• It doesn’t seem right what they did. – No me parece correcto lo que hicieron.

• I don’t think that this is the right time to talk about it. – No me parece que sea el momento correcto para hablar sobre esto.

Parece que sí / no – It seems so / not

Parece que sí translates easily as it seems so or it appears so, while parece que no can translate along the lines of it seems not, it doesn’t seem so, or it doesn’t seem to be the case. These are common Spanish phrases used to agree or disagree, based on how things or situations look. They are helpful for making observations or answering questions when things aren’t totally clear.

• It seems so, but I’m not completely sure. – Parece que sí, pero no estoy completamente seguro.

• Will there be a new season of the series? It doesn’t seem so. – ¿Habrá una nueva temporada de la serie? Parece que no.

• It seems like we won’t have enough time to finish our homework. – Parece que no tendremos suficiente tiempo para terminar la tarea.

Al parecer – Apparently

In this expression, we’re stating the infinitive of the verb as a noun, and using the contraction of a el to literally say to the appearance. Taken together, al parecer is equivalent to apparently, seemingly, or even it appears that or it seems that. We use this phrase to indicate that something appears to be true based on the information available.

• Apparently, Juan got the job. – Al parecer, Juan consiguió el trabajo.

• It seems that the event was canceled. – Al parecer, el evento fue cancelado.

Parecerse in Spanish

Now that we’ve looked at parecer in Spanish and seen it in a number of phrases, let’s consider parecer vs parecerse.

Parecerse is a pronominal verb that means to resemble or to look like in Spanish. We use it to express similarities between things, people, or situations, with a focus on their physical appearance, characteristics, or behavior.

The conjugation of parecerse always includes the reflexive pronoun to match the verb’s subject. Like parecer, we conjugate parecerse to match the people or things that are perceived, as opposed to matching the perceiver. The key difference between the two conjugations is the presence of the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se); otherwise, our parecer vs parecerse conjugations are identical.

Subject	Parecerse
yo	me parezco
tú	te pareces
él, ella, usted	se parece
nosotros, nosotras	nos parecemos
vosotros, vosotras	os parecéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes	se parecen

Now that we know the meaning and conjugation of parecerse in Spanish, let’s see its uses and examples.

How to use parecerse in Spanish

As we mentioned, parecerse is used to indicate resemblance or similarity between people, actions or situations. When we introduce the other person or thing that the first one resembles, we use the preposition a to say they look like. This is known as the personal a in Spanish.

Now let’s see the various situations where we can use parecerse in Spanish, with plenty of examples to see it in action.

Physical resemblance – Parecido físico

Parecerse is commonly used to describe physical appearance, especially when discussing family resemblances or likenesses between people.

• That man looks like my math teacher. – Ese hombre se parece a mi profesor de matemáticas.

• You look like an old friend of mine from college – Te pareces a un viejo amigo mío de la universidad.

Character traits and behaviors – Aspectos del carácter y conducta

Parecerse is also used to express non-physical traits, like personality, habits, or behaviors. When we use parecerse to describe character traits or behaviors, it can be translated as to be similar or to resemble.

• They resemble their father in their determination. – Ellos se parecen a su padre en su determinación.

• My cousins and I are similar in our musical tastes. – Mis primos y yo nos parecemos en nuestros gustos musicales.

Situations and objects – Situaciones y objetos

Parecerse is also used to compare and describe similarities between things, situations and events. In this context, we often translate parecerse as to look like or to be similar to.

• This car looks like the one my father had. – Este carro se parece al que tenía mi papá.

• The current economic situation is very similar to the one of twenty years ago. – La situación económica actual se parece mucho a la de hace veinte años.

Contrast – Contraste

While parecerse is primarily used to describe similarities, Spanish speakers use no parecerse to emphasize contrasts, particularly when expectations of resemblance don’t match. By expressing contrasts with no parecerse, we highlight differences in appearance, characteristics, or situations where we’d normally expected similarities. In this context no parecerse can translate as doesn’t look like, isn’t like, or is not similar.

• Despite being twins, they don’t look like each other much. – A pesar de ser gemelos, ellos no se parecen mucho.

• This car doesn’t look like the previous model. – Este carro no se parece al modelo anterior.

Conclusion: Parecer vs Parecerse

Today we took a thorough look at parecer vs parecerse in Spanish, exploring their meanings, uses, and differences.

We learned that parecer is used to say to seem or to appear in Spanish, and that it sometimes needs an indirect object pronoun to indicate who is doing the perceiving. We saw many common parecer phrases, such as parece mentira to express disbelief or parece que fue ayer to show nostalgia.

We then discussed the pronominal verb parecerse, highlighting the importance of the reflexive pronouns in its conjugation. Meaning to resemble or to look like, we saw that we often need to use a to introduce what something looks like. We learned several uses of parecerse for stating similarities, as well as how we can use no parecerse to express how things aren’t as similar as we expected.

Grasping the differences between parecer and parecerse is vital for mastering Spanish. They’re both related, but they serve different functions and contexts. By using the right forms of parecer vs parecerse, we can be more precise in our observations. Now that you’ve covered all their key uses and differences, see how well you’ve learned them by trying a few exercises!

Exercises: Parecer vs Parecerse

Let’s put this knowledge to use with some practice sentences. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of parecer or parecerse.

1. ________ que el concierto fue cancelado. – It seems that the concert was canceled.

2. Mis hijos ________ mucho a sus abuelos. – My children look a lot like their grandparents.

3. Este lugar ________ un buen sitio para descansar. – This place seems like a good spot to rest.

4. No ________ justo que ella siempre tenga que limpiar. – It doesn’t seem fair to me that she always has to clean.

5. Ellos ________ mucho en sus opiniones políticas. – They are very similar in their political opinions.

6. ¿Te ________ buena la película? – Did the movie seem good to you?

7. Este problema ________ muy complicado de resolver. – This problem seems to be very complicated to solve.

8. Aunque son primos, no ________ en nada. – Even though they are cousins, they don’t look alike at all.

9. ________ que ella no vendrá a la fiesta. – It seems that she won’t be coming to the party.

10. Su voz ________ a la de un locutor de radio. – His voice seems like a radio announcer’s.

Answers

1. Parece que el concierto fue cancelado. – It seems that the concert was canceled.

2. Mis hijos se parecen mucho a sus abuelos. – My children look a lot like their grandparents.

3. Este lugar parece un buen sitio para descansar. – This place seems like a good spot to rest.

4. No me parece justo que ella siempre tenga que limpiar. – It doesn’t seem fair to me that she always has to clean.

5. Ellos se parecen mucho en sus opiniones políticas. – They are very similar in their political opinions.

6. ¿Te pareció buena la película? – Did the movie seem good to you?

7. Este problema parece ser muy complicado de resolver. – This problem seems to be very complicated to solve.

8. Aunque son primos, no se parecen en nada. – Even though they are cousins, they don’t look alike at all.

9. Parece que ella no vendrá a la fiesta. – It seems that she won’t be coming to the party.

10. Su voz se parece a la de un locutor de radio. – His voice seems like a radio announcer’s.