Sembrare and parere are the two main Italian verbs for to seem or to appear. They are near-synonyms — and almost interchangeable — but each has its own distribution, register, and grammatical reflexes. Like piacere, both work with the inverted dative pattern when expressing personal impressions, and both trigger the congiuntivo when followed by che.
You will need these verbs constantly to soften assertions ("it seems to me that...") and to report appearances rather than facts. Once mastered, they become the backbone of polite, hedged, mature Italian.
The basic inverted pattern
When sembrare or parere takes an adjective or noun phrase as its complement, it follows the piacere-type pattern: the impression-haver is marked with an indirect pronoun, and the verb itself stays in the third-person singular (or plural, if the subject is plural).
Mi sembra strano che non abbia chiamato.
It seems strange to me that he hasn't called.
Ti pare giusto pagare così tanto?
Does it seem right to you to pay so much?
Mi sembra una buona idea, andiamoci.
It seems like a good idea to me, let's go.
Le sue scuse non mi sembrano sincere.
His apologies don't seem sincere to me.
Notice the agreement in the last example: the subject is le sue scuse (plural feminine), so the verb is sembrano, not sembra. As with all piacere-type verbs, the verb agrees with the thing being judged, never with the experiencer.
Sembrare vs. parere: what's the difference?
In modern spoken Italian, sembrare is the everyday default; parere is slightly more formal, more literary, and more common in fixed expressions. They are mutually substitutable in almost all contexts, but their frequency profiles differ.
| sembrare | parere |
|---|---|
| Most frequent in everyday speech | Slightly more formal / literary |
| Neutral register | Common in journalism and elevated prose |
| The default for new learners | Survives in fixed expressions: "che ti pare?", "a quanto pare", "se ti pare" |
| "Mi sembra una buona idea." | "Mi pare una buona idea." (slightly more refined) |
A few parere-anchored expressions are universal in spoken Italian and worth memorizing as wholes:
A quanto pare, hanno cancellato il volo.
Apparently, they've cancelled the flight. (lit. 'as much as it seems')
Fai come ti pare.
Do as you please. (slightly curt or resigned)
Che te ne pare?
What do you think of it? (lit. 'what does it seem to you about it?')
In all these, sembrare would feel slightly off — these are parere territory. Outside fixed expressions, treat them as interchangeable and lean toward sembrare in conversation.
With che + congiuntivo
When sembrare or parere is followed by che introducing a full subordinate clause, the verb in that clause must be in the congiuntivo (subjunctive). This is one of the most reliable subjunctive triggers in Italian — they signal an impression, not a verified fact, so the unreal mood is required.
Sembra che piova tutto il giorno.
It seems it's raining all day. (congiuntivo: piova, not piove)
Pare che Marco sia malato da una settimana.
It seems Marco has been sick for a week. (congiuntivo: sia)
Mi sembra che tu abbia ragione.
It seems to me that you're right. (congiuntivo: abbia)
Pareva che non volessero parlare.
It seemed they didn't want to talk. (imperfect subjunctive: volessero)
This is a sharp difference from English, which uses the indicative throughout: it seems that he is sick — not it seems that he be sick. Italian, like Spanish and French, formally marks the speaker's epistemic distance from the embedded claim.
For the full set of expressions that trigger the subjunctive, see subjunctive triggers — opinion verbs.
With di + infinitive (same subject)
When the impression is about yourself — when the subject of to seem matches the subject of the embedded action — Italian switches to di + infinitive instead of che + congiuntivo. This is the same rule that governs credere di, pensare di, sperare di and other opinion verbs.
Mi sembra di sognare, è tutto troppo bello.
It feels like I'm dreaming, it's all too good. (lit. 'it seems to me to dream')
Mi pare di averti già visto da qualche parte.
I feel like I've seen you somewhere before.
Le sembra di non capire più niente.
She feels like she doesn't understand anything anymore.
Non mi pare di aver detto niente di strano.
I don't think I said anything strange.
The choice is mechanical: same subject → di + infinito; different subject → che + congiuntivo. Italian is strict about this in formal speech and writing, though spoken Italian sometimes blurs the line.
Compound tenses: essere
Both verbs take essere in compound tenses, and the past participle agrees with the subject (the thing that seemed a certain way).
Mi è sembrato strano, ma non ho detto niente.
It seemed strange to me, but I didn't say anything.
Le sue scuse mi sono sembrate poco convincenti.
His apologies seemed unconvincing to me.
Ci è parso giusto avvisarlo subito.
It seemed right to us to warn him right away.
Mi è parsa una serata bellissima.
It seemed like a wonderful evening to me.
| Subject | sembrare (passato prossimo) | parere (passato prossimo) |
|---|---|---|
| singular masc. (un errore) | mi è sembrato | mi è parso |
| singular fem. (una buona idea) | mi è sembrata | mi è parsa |
| plural masc. (i prezzi) | mi sono sembrati | mi sono parsi |
| plural fem. (le scuse) | mi sono sembrate | mi sono parse |
Note the irregular past participle of parere — parso/parsa/parsi/parse, not paruto. This is one of the few forms you simply have to memorize.
Common mistakes
❌ Sembra che lui è malato.
Incorrect — sembrare che requires the subjunctive, not the indicative.
✅ Sembra che lui sia malato.
Correct — congiuntivo (sia) is required after 'sembra che'.
❌ Mi sembro stanco.
Incorrect — sembrare in this sense is third person, not first. The structure is inverted.
✅ Mi sembra di essere stanco.
Correct — same subject, so use 'di + infinito'.
❌ Le sue scuse mi sembra false.
Incorrect — the verb must agree with 'le sue scuse' (plural).
✅ Le sue scuse mi sembrano false.
Correct — plural subject, plural verb.
❌ Mi è paruto strano.
Incorrect — the past participle of parere is irregular.
✅ Mi è parso strano.
Correct — parso, parsa, parsi, parse.
❌ Sembra di piovere.
Incorrect — different subject (the rain, not 'me'), so use 'che + congiuntivo'.
✅ Sembra che piova.
Correct — different subject requires 'che' + subjunctive.
Key takeaways
Sembrare and parere behave as piacere-type verbs whenever they take an adjective or noun phrase as a complement: the experiencer is marked with an indirect pronoun and the verb agrees with the thing being judged. Sembrare is the everyday default; parere is slightly more formal but lives on in many fixed expressions.
When followed by che introducing a clause, both verbs trigger the congiuntivo. When the embedded subject matches the experiencer, switch to di + infinitive. In compound tenses both take essere, with parere showing the irregular participle parso/parsa/parsi/parse.
For the broader pattern, see piacere overview and the complete piacere-type reference.
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