What does parecer mean in English?

Parecer means "to seem" in English.

How do you conjugate parecer in Spanish?

Parecer is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with parecer?

Common idiomatic expressions using parecer include: "al parecer" (apparently / seemingly), "parecerse a" (to look like / to resemble), "¿qué te parece?" (what do you think?). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using parecer?

Parecer is irregular like conocer with c→zc in certain forms

How do you use parecer in a sentence?

Example: "Parece que va a llover." which means "It seems like it's going to rain." in English.

What are synonyms for parecer?

Spanish synonyms for parecer include: asemejarse, aparentar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Parecer Conjugation

to seem in Spanish

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

pareciendo

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

parecido

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	parezco I seem	I seem
tú	pareces you seem	you seem
él/ella/usted	parece he/she/you seems	he/she/you seems
nosotros	parecemos we seem	we seem
vosotros	parecéis you all seem	you all seem
ellos/ustedes	parecen they/you all seem	they/you all seem

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	parecía I used to seem	I used to seem
tú	parecías you used to seem	you used to seem
él/ella/usted	parecía he/she/you used to seem	he/she/you used to seem
nosotros	parecíamos we used to seem	we used to seem
vosotros	parecíais you all used to seem	you all used to seem
ellos/ustedes	parecían they/you all used to seem	they/you all used to seem

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	parecí I seemed	I seemed
tú	pareciste you seemed	you seemed
él/ella/usted	pareció he/she/you seemed	he/she/you seemed
nosotros	parecimos we seemed	we seemed
vosotros	parecisteis you all seemed	you all seemed
ellos/ustedes	parecieron they/you all seemed	they/you all seemed

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pareceré I will seem	I will seem
tú	parecerás you will seem	you will seem
él/ella/usted	parecerá he/she/you will seem	he/she/you will seem
nosotros	pareceremos we will seem	we will seem
vosotros	pareceréis you all will seem	you all will seem
ellos/ustedes	parecerán they/you all will seem	they/you all will seem

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	parecería I would seem	I would seem
tú	parecerías you would seem	you would seem
él/ella/usted	parecería he/she/you would seem	he/she/you would seem
nosotros	pareceríamos we would seem	we would seem
vosotros	pareceríais you all would seem	you all would seem
ellos/ustedes	parecerían they/you all would seem	they/you all would seem

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	parezca that I seem	that I seem
tú	parezcas that you seem	that you seem
él/ella/usted	parezca that he/she/you seem	that he/she/you seem
nosotros	parezcamos that we seem	that we seem
vosotros	parezcáis that you all seem	that you all seem
ellos/ustedes	parezcan that they/you all seem	that they/you all seem

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	pareciera or pareciese that I seemed	that I seemed
tú	parecieras or parecieses that you seemed	that you seemed
él/ella/usted	pareciera or pareciese that he/she/you seemed	that he/she/you seemed
nosotros	pareciéramos or pareciésemos that we seemed	that we seemed
vosotros	parecierais or parecieseis that you all seemed	that you all seemed
ellos/ustedes	parecieran or pareciesen that they/you all seemed	that they/you all seemed

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he parecido I have seemed	I have seemed
tú	has parecido you have seemed	you have seemed
él/ella/usted	ha parecido he/she/you have seemed	he/she/you have seemed
nosotros	hemos parecido we have seemed	we have seemed
vosotros	habéis parecido you all have seemed	you all have seemed
ellos/ustedes	han parecido they/you all have seemed	they/you all have seemed

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había parecido I had seemed	I had seemed
tú	habías parecido you had seemed	you had seemed
él/ella/usted	había parecido he/she/you had seemed	he/she/you had seemed
nosotros	habíamos parecido we had seemed	we had seemed
vosotros	habíais parecido you all had seemed	you all had seemed
ellos/ustedes	habían parecido they/you all had seemed	they/you all had seemed

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube parecido I had seemed	I had seemed
tú	hubiste parecido you had seemed	you had seemed
él/ella/usted	hubo parecido he/she/you had seemed	he/she/you had seemed
nosotros	hubimos parecido we had seemed	we had seemed
vosotros	hubisteis parecido you all had seemed	you all had seemed
ellos/ustedes	hubieron parecido they/you all had seemed	they/you all had seemed

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré parecido I will have seemed	I will have seemed
tú	habrás parecido you will have seemed	you will have seemed
él/ella/usted	habrá parecido he/she/you will have seemed	he/she/you will have seemed
nosotros	habremos parecido we will have seemed	we will have seemed
vosotros	habréis parecido you all will have seemed	you all will have seemed
ellos/ustedes	habrán parecido they/you all will have seemed	they/you all will have seemed

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría parecido I would have seemed	I would have seemed
tú	habrías parecido you would have seemed	you would have seemed
él/ella/usted	habría parecido he/she/you would have seemed	he/she/you would have seemed
nosotros	habríamos parecido we would have seemed	we would have seemed
vosotros	habríais parecido you all would have seemed	you all would have seemed
ellos/ustedes	habrían parecido they/you all would have seemed	they/you all would have seemed

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya parecido that I have seemed	that I have seemed
tú	hayas parecido that you have seemed	that you have seemed
él/ella/usted	haya parecido that he/she/you have seemed	that he/she/you have seemed
nosotros	hayamos parecido that we have seemed	that we have seemed
vosotros	hayáis parecido that you all have seemed	that you all have seemed
ellos/ustedes	hayan parecido that they/you all have seemed	that they/you all have seemed

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera parecido that I had seemed	that I had seemed
tú	hubieras parecido that you had seemed	that you had seemed
él/ella/usted	hubiera parecido that he/she/you had seemed	that he/she/you had seemed
nosotros	hubiéramos parecido that we had seemed	that we had seemed
vosotros	hubierais parecido that you all had seemed	that you all had seemed
ellos/ustedes	hubieran parecido that they/you all had seemed	that they/you all had seemed

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	parece	seem! (you)
usted	parezca	seem! (you formal)
nosotros	parezcamos	let's seem!
vosotros	pareced	seem! (you all)
ustedes	parezcan	seem! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no parezcas	don't seem! (you)
usted	no parezca	don't seem! (you formal)
nosotros	no parezcamos	let's not seem!
vosotros	no parezcáis	don't seem! (you all)
ustedes	no parezcan	don't seem! (you all)

More About "parecer"

Idiomatic Expressions

al parecer

apparently / seemingly

💡 Introducing information based on appearance or reports

parecerse a

to look like / to resemble

💡 Comparing physical appearance or characteristics

¿qué te parece?

what do you think?

💡 Asking for someone's opinion

por lo que parece

from what it seems / apparently

💡 Drawing conclusions from available information

Examples in Context

Parece que va a llover.

It seems like it's going to rain.

Present

Me parece una buena idea.

It seems like a good idea to me.

Present

Te pareces mucho a tu madre.

You look a lot like your mother.

Present

Parecía cansado ayer.

He seemed tired yesterday.

Imperfect

¿Qué te ha parecido la película?

What did you think of the movie?

Present Perfect

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

asemejarse(to resemble)

More formal, emphasizes similarity

aparentar(to appear, seem)

Often implies false appearance

Usage Notes

•Parecer is irregular like conocer with c→zc in certain forms
•Present tense yo form: parezco (irregular)
•Often used with indirect object pronouns: me parece, te parece
•Can mean "to seem" or "to look like" depending on context
•Reflexive "parecerse a" specifically means to resemble
•Commonly used to ask opinions: ¿Qué te parece? (What do you think?)
•Present subjunctive: parezca, parezcas, parezca
•Very common in everyday conversation for expressing opinions

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Parecer Conjugation

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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