Conjugation of aparèixer | Catalan Grammar

Aparèixer means “to appear, show up, become visible” and, in texts or records, “be shown, listed, or mentioned.” It is normally intransitive: the person or thing that comes into view is the subject. English “there appears...” therefore maps naturally onto Catalan presentational order: A la pantalla apareix un avís or, with a resumed location, A la pantalla hi apareix un avís.

Its principal parts form a compact system: aparec – apareixia – apareguí – apareixeré – aparegui – aparegués – aparegut. The accented infinitive aparèixer loses its accent in apareixeré and apareixeria because stress moves to the ending. The lexical sequence -eix- is not the incoative suffix of a third-conjugation verb.

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Link aparec to the velar family aparegui, aparegués, aparegut; use apareix- for most present and imperfect forms; and use apareixer- for future and conditional.

Nonfinite forms

Form	Catalan	English guide
Infinitive	aparèixer	to appear / show up
Perfect infinitive	haver aparegut	to have appeared
Gerund	apareixent	appearing / emerging
Perfect gerund	havent aparegut	having appeared
Participle	aparegut; apareguda, apareguts, aparegudes	appeared; newly arrived

The gerund is apareixent, never apareguent. Compound tenses use invariable aparegut: les errades que han aparegut. Agreeing forms occur adjectivally, sometimes with a slightly marked or expressive flavor: un parent aparegut de sobte. The more ordinary finite construction remains un parent que ha aparegut de sobte.

Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	aparec	apareixes	apareix	apareixem	apareixeu	apareixen
Imperfect	apareixia	apareixies	apareixia	apareixíem	apareixíeu	apareixien
Periphrastic past	vaig aparèixer	vas aparèixer	va aparèixer	vam aparèixer	vau aparèixer	van aparèixer
Simple past	apareguí	aparegueres	aparegué	apareguérem	apareguéreu	aparegueren
Future	apareixeré	apareixeràs	apareixerà	apareixerem	apareixereu	apareixeran
Conditional	apareixeria	apareixeries	apareixeria	apareixeríem	apareixeríeu	apareixerien

Present apareix is both the third-person singular indicative and the familiar singular imperative. These forms are homophonous and homographic; syntax identifies whether one is stating “it appears” or commanding “appear.” The formal Central reference form is aparec. Informal Central speech also has the established analogical variants apareixo and present subjunctive apareixi, apareixis...; this page keeps aparec / aparegui as its formal baseline. The everyday completed past is periphrastic. The simple series apareguí... is mainly (formal/literary) in Central Catalan, with stronger spoken use in some Valencian and Balearic areas (regional).

Al cap d'uns segons apareix un missatge que confirma el pagament.

After a few seconds, a message appears confirming the payment.

La Júlia va aparèixer a la festa quan ja recollíem les taules.

Júlia showed up at the party when we were already clearing the tables.

El seu nom apareixia a totes les actes, però ningú no recordava haver-lo vist.

His name appeared in every set of minutes, but nobody remembered seeing him.

Quan actualitzis l'aplicació, t'apareixerà una icona nova al menú.

When you update the app, a new icon will appear in the menu.

Indicative compound tenses

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present perfect	he aparegut	has aparegut	ha aparegut	hem aparegut	heu aparegut	han aparegut
Pluperfect	havia aparegut	havies aparegut	havia aparegut	havíem aparegut	havíeu aparegut	havien aparegut
Past anterior	haguí aparegut	hagueres aparegut	hagué aparegut	haguérem aparegut	haguéreu aparegut	hagueren aparegut
Future perfect	hauré aparegut	hauràs aparegut	haurà aparegut	haurem aparegut	haureu aparegut	hauran aparegut
Conditional perfect	hauria aparegut	hauries aparegut	hauria aparegut	hauríem aparegut	hauríeu aparegut	haurien aparegut

The past anterior is (formal/literary). The full periphrastic anterior is vaig/vas/va/vam/vau/van haver aparegut. All perfects use haver; Catalan does not switch to ser simply because aparèixer is intransitive.

Aquest matí han aparegut unes esquerdes noves al sostre de la sala.

Some new cracks have appeared in the room's ceiling this morning.

El document ja havia aparegut en un catàleg del segle XIX.

The document had already appeared in a nineteenth-century catalog.

Subjunctive and imperative

Tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Present	aparegui	apareguis	aparegui	apareguem	aparegueu	apareguin
Imperfect	aparegués	apareguessis	aparegués	apareguéssim	apareguéssiu	apareguessin
Present perfect	hagi aparegut	hagis aparegut	hagi aparegut	hàgim aparegut	hàgiu aparegut	hagin aparegut
Pluperfect	hagués aparegut	haguessis aparegut	hagués aparegut	haguéssim aparegut	haguéssiu aparegut	haguessin aparegut

Addressee	Affirmative	Negative
tu	apareix	no apareguis
vostè	aparegui	no aparegui
nosaltres	apareguem	no apareguem
vosaltres	apareixeu	no aparegueu
vostès	apareguin	no apareguin

Literal commands are grammatically complete but pragmatically unusual because appearing is seldom under deliberate control. They occur in stage directions, playful speech, advertising, or (literary) apostrophe. The remaining periphrastic series are complete but restricted:

Periphrastic tense	jo	tu	ell / ella / vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells / elles / vostès
Indicative past anterior	vaig haver aparegut	vas haver aparegut	va haver aparegut	vam haver aparegut	vau haver aparegut	van haver aparegut
Subjunctive past	vagi aparèixer	vagis aparèixer	vagi aparèixer	vàgim aparèixer	vàgiu aparèixer	vagin aparèixer
Subjunctive past anterior	vagi haver aparegut	vagis haver aparegut	vagi haver aparegut	vàgim haver aparegut	vàgiu haver aparegut	vagin haver aparegut

The two subjunctive rows are (very rare/formal) rather than neutral conversational replacements for aparegués and hagués aparegut.

És possible que hi aparegui una finestra emergent després d'acceptar les condicions.

A pop-up window may appear there after you accept the terms.

Si el testimoni hagués aparegut abans, el judici hauria pres un altre rumb.

If the witness had appeared earlier, the trial would have taken a different course.

Syntax, weak pronouns, and meaning contrasts

Aparèixer is normally nonpronominal and intransitive. Do not attach se merely because Spanish sometimes encourages learners to overgeneralize reflexive forms. A restricted pronominal use, aparèixer-se, is nevertheless standard for a supernatural apparition: Se li va aparèixer un esperit. A locative complement often takes a (aparèixer a la pantalla, a la televisió) or en (aparèixer en un llibre, en una fotografia), depending on how the location is conceptualized. The weak pronoun hi can replace or resume a location.

—El meu cognom surt al document? —Sí, hi apareix, a la segona pàgina.

—Does my surname show in the document? —Yes, it appears there, on the second page.

The verb can mean physical emergence (va aparèixer entre la boira), arrival (no va aparèixer a la cita), publication (l'article apareixerà al juny), or being represented/listed (apareix com a responsable). Com a introduces a role or capacity. Per primera vegada, de sobte, del no-res, and en escena are characteristic collocations. The progressive sequence anar apareixent presents items emerging gradually or successively.

A mesura que buidàvem l'arxiu, anaven apareixent cartes que ningú no havia catalogat.

As we emptied the archive, letters that nobody had cataloged kept turning up.

Do not confuse aparèixer with semblar, which expresses an impression (“seem”), or automatically with sortir, which can mean come out, be displayed, or be mentioned. El resultat apareix a la pantalla describes its becoming or being visible; el resultat sembla correcte evaluates its appearance.

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English “appear” has two major readings. Use aparèixer for becoming visible or turning up; use semblar for “seem”: Sembla cansada, not apareix cansada.

(Regional: Valencian) the infinitive is aparéixer, present subjunctive is aparega, aparegues, aparega, apareguem, aparegueu, apareguen, and imperfect apareguera... is standard. Central aparèixer / aparegui / aparegués is the baseline. The main stem family is shared across Valencian, Northwestern, Balearic, Northern, and Alguerese standards even where pronunciation or auxiliary variants differ.

Common Mistakes

❌ Jo apareixeixo als crèdits com a ajudant de producció.

Incorrect—this impossible form adds a second incoative-looking -eix-; use aparec in the reference paradigm.

✅ Jo aparec als crèdits com a ajudant de producció.

I appear in the credits as an assistant producer.

❌ Han apareguit taques d'humitat darrere l'armari.

Incorrect—the participle is aparegut.

✅ Han aparegut taques d'humitat darrere l'armari.

Damp patches have appeared behind the wardrobe.

❌ Espero que el missatge apareix després de reiniciar el mòbil.

Incorrect—the hoped-for event requires present subjunctive aparegui.

✅ Espero que el missatge aparegui després de reiniciar el mòbil.

I hope the message appears after the phone restarts.

❌ La periodista es va aparèixer a la roda de premsa sense avisar.

Incorrect—ordinary aparèixer is not pronominal.

✅ La periodista va aparèixer a la roda de premsa sense avisar.

The journalist showed up at the press conference without warning.

❌ Aquest actor apareix de metge a la sèrie.

Incorrect for a role or capacity—the characteristic expression is aparèixer com a.

✅ Aquest actor apareix com a metge a la sèrie.

This actor appears as a doctor in the series.

Key Takeaways

Anchor the formal paradigm with aparec, apareix-, aparegu-, apareixer- and aparegut. Use haver for every compound tense, and do not add a pronominal se in ordinary “appear/show up” uses; aparèixer-se is reserved chiefly for apparitions. Locations commonly take a or en and can be represented by hi. Use aparèixer for becoming visible or showing up, not for the “seem” meaning of English appear.

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