parecer

From Old Galician-Portuguese parecer, from Vulgar Latin *pārēscere, from Latin pārēre.

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ˌpaɾeˈθeɾ/
• (dialectal, western) IPA^(key): /ˌpaɾeˈseɾ/

parecer (first-person singular present parezo, first-person singular preterite parecín, past participle parecido)

1. to seem, appear

• “parecer”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “parecer”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

From Old Galician-Portuguese parecer, from Vulgar Latin *pārēscere, from Latin pārēre.

• Hyphenation: pa‧re‧cer

parecer (first-person singular present pareço, first-person singular preterite pareci, past participle parecido)

1. (copulative or auxiliary) to seem

   O Jorge parece estar feliz. ― George seems to be happy.

   • 2002, Maria Cecília de Souza Minayo, Carlos E. A. Coimbra Jr., Antropologia, Saúde e Envelhecimento, SciELO Books, Editora FIOCRUZ, →ISBN, page 81:

     Ah, hoje o individualismo tomou conta da população. Cada um ‘primeiro eu’, depois eu, depois eu, depois eu, depois a minha mãe... e olhe lá. E olhe lá... Não, hoje a coisa tá desse jeito. Por incrível que pareça... é verdade.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (pronominal) to resemble [with com ‘someone/something’]

Nominalization of Etymology 1.

• Hyphenation: pa‧re‧cer

parecer m (plural pareceres)

1. expert opinion, advice, assessment, evaluation

• “parecer”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “parecer” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “parecer”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *pārēscere, from Latin pārēre.

• IPA^(key): /paɾeˈθeɾ/ [pa.ɾeˈθeɾ] (Spain, Equatorial Guinea)
• IPA^(key): /paɾeˈseɾ/ [pa.ɾeˈseɾ] (Latin America, Philippines)

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: pa‧re‧cer

parecer (first-person singular present parezco, first-person singular preterite parecí, past participle parecido)

1. (copulative) to seem, to see fit

   El caballo parece muerto. ― The horse seems dead.

   Me parece que... ― It seems to me that...

   como mejor le parezca ― as you see fit; as one sees fit

   Parece tranquila.

   She seems calm.

   Me dicen que parezco feo, pero ¿a mí qué me importa?

   They tell me I look ugly, but what do I care?

2. (impersonal) to look like, to seem like

   Parece que dejó de llover.

   It looks like it stopped raining.

   Parece que sí.

   It seems so.

3. (pronominal) to believe
4. (pronominal) to think

   ¿Qué te parece si vamos al bar?

   What do you think about going to a bar?

5. to strike (seem, appear, make an impression)

   Te voy a mandar una cosa que escribí el otro día, para ver qué te parece.

   I am going to send you something that I wrote the other day, in order to see how it strikes you.

   ¿Te parece que cambiemos el día para el martes?

   How about we change the day to Tuesday?

   A mí me parece que no hay nadie allí.

   It seems to me that there is nobody there.

6. (reflexive) to be like, to take after, to resemble

   Se parece a su papá.

   He/she looks like his/her father.

   Te pareces a tu padre.

   You look like your father.

   Me parezco a tu tío.

   I look like your uncle.

7. to perceive

When it precedes the conjunction que and a clause, the affirmative form can only be used before the indicative mood, and the use of the subjunctive is grammatically incorrect. The subjunctive mood can be used after interrogative or negative sentences to express doubt. The use of the indicative mood in these cases is grammatically incorrect.

parecer m (plural pareceres)

1. (archaic) appearance (used generally when a person is pretty)
   • (Can we date this quote?) Bible, Genesis 29.17:

     Y los ojos de Lea eran tiernos, pero Rachêl era de lindo semblante y de hermoso parecer.

     Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.

     (KJV)

   Synonym: apariencia

2. opinion

   Synonyms: opinión, idea

• “parecer”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025