Parecer is one of the most useful verbs in Brazilian Portuguese for hedging, guessing, and describing impressions: it covers English to seem, to look, to sound, and to look like. It is an -er verb, almost entirely regular, with a single but important irregularity: the c → ç spelling change in the first-person singular present (pareço) and throughout the present subjunctive (pareça, pareçamos, pareçam). This change is purely orthographic — it keeps the soft /s/ sound that c has before e/i but loses before o/a.
Conjugation tables
The key thing to internalize: wherever the ending would put c before o or a, Portuguese writes ç to preserve the soft sound. That happens in eu pareço (present) and across the present subjunctive.
Indicative
| Pronoun | Presente | Pretérito perfeito | Pretérito imperfeito | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | pareço | pareci | parecia | parecerei | pareceria |
| tu/você | parece | pareceu | parecia | parecerá | pareceria |
| ele/ela | parece | pareceu | parecia | parecerá | pareceria |
| nós | parecemos | parecemos | parecíamos | pareceremos | pareceríamos |
| vocês | parecem | pareceram | pareciam | parecerão | pareceriam |
| eles/elas | parecem | pareceram | pareciam | parecerão | pareceriam |
Note: in BR, tu colloquially takes the same form as você (tu parece), even though the strict standard is tu pareces. We list the você form because that is the living BR norm.
Subjunctive
| Pronoun | Presente do subjuntivo | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | pareça | parecesse | parecer |
| tu/você | pareça | parecesses / parecesse | pareceres / parecer |
| ele/ela | pareça | parecesse | parecer |
| nós | pareçamos | parecêssemos | parecermos |
| vocês | pareçam | parecessem | parecerem |
| eles/elas | pareçam | parecessem | parecerem |
Imperative, non-finite
| Pronoun | Imperativo afirmativo | Imperativo negativo |
|---|---|---|
| você | pareça | não pareça |
| nós | pareçamos | não pareçamos |
| vocês | pareçam | não pareçam |
The imperative of parecer is rare in real speech — you mostly meet it in expressions like "Não pareça preocupado" (Don't look worried).
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo impessoal | parecer |
| Infinitivo pessoal | parecer / parecer / parecer / parecermos / parecerem / parecerem |
| Gerúndio | parecendo |
| Particípio | parecido |
The three core uses
1. parecer = to seem / to look / to sound
This is the everyday use, and it works like a linking verb (like ser/estar): an adjective or noun follows. There is no preposition.
Esse restaurante parece caro, mas a comida vale a pena.
That restaurant looks expensive, but the food is worth it.
Você parece cansado hoje. Dormiu mal?
You look tired today. Did you sleep badly?
A ideia parece boa no papel.
The idea seems good on paper.
Notice that English splits this across seem, look, and sound depending on the sense, while Portuguese uses parecer for all of them. Context (and the adjective) tells you which English verb fits.
2. parecer-se com = to look like / to resemble (physically)
When you mean physical resemblance between people, parecer becomes pronominal and takes com: parecer-se com alguém. In colloquial BR the reflexive se is often dropped, leaving plain parecer com, which is extremely common in speech.
Ele se parece muito com o pai — mesmo nariz, mesmo sorriso.
He looks a lot like his father — same nose, same smile.
Sua filha parece com você quando ri.
Your daughter looks like you when she laughs.
3. parecer que + indicative = it seems that
To report an impression as a whole clause, use parecer que followed by the indicative — not the subjunctive. This trips up learners who assume "seeming" implies doubt and therefore subjunctive. In affirmative parecer que, the speaker is asserting an apparent fact, so the indicative is correct.
Parece que vai chover; o céu está fechado.
It seems it's going to rain; the sky is overcast.
Pelo barulho, parece que eles já chegaram.
From the noise, it seems they've already arrived.
A near-synonymous structure flips the subject up front: "Eles parecem ter chegado" (They seem to have arrived), with an infinitive instead of a que-clause. Both are natural; the que-version is more conversational.
parecer vs achar
English speakers often reach for parecer when a Brazilian would say achar (to think/find). Use achar for your own opinion (Acho que sim — I think so), and parecer when something projects an impression outward. "Parece bom" = it gives the impression of being good; "Acho bom" = I judge it good. Compare with the achar page.
Acho que ela está certa, mas a explicação dela não parece muito convincente.
I think she's right, but her explanation doesn't seem very convincing.
Brazil vs Portugal
The verb conjugates identically in both varieties. The difference is in the pronominal use: European Portuguese keeps the clitic and often uses enclisis (parece-se com), while colloquial BR drops se entirely (parece com). Both write pareço/pareça the same way.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu pareco cansado.
Incorrect — the 1sg present is pareço, with ç, not c.
✅ Eu pareço cansado.
I look tired.
❌ Espero que ele pareca feliz.
Incorrect — the present subjunctive needs ç: pareça.
✅ Espero que ele pareça feliz.
I hope he looks happy.
❌ Parece que ela esteja doente.
Incorrect — affirmative 'parece que' takes the indicative, not subjunctive.
✅ Parece que ela está doente.
It seems she is sick.
❌ Ele parece o pai.
Incorrect for physical resemblance — you need 'com' (and optionally 'se').
✅ Ele (se) parece com o pai.
He looks like his father.
❌ Me parece interessante esse livro.
Stilted/overly literal — Brazilians usually drop the clitic here.
✅ Esse livro parece interessante.
This book seems interesting.
Key Takeaways
- parecer is an -er verb with one irregularity: c → ç in pareço (1sg present) and the entire present subjunctive (pareça, pareçamos, pareçam).
- Plain parecer
- adjective = to seem / look / sound.
- parecer-se com (colloquial: parecer com) = to look like / resemble.
- parecer que
- indicative = it seems that; do not use the subjunctive here.
- Use achar for personal opinions, parecer for outward impressions.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Verbs Whose Meaning Changes with Clitic ('Se')B2 — A set of notorious Brazilian Portuguese verbs whose meaning shifts entirely depending on whether they carry the pronoun 'se' — lembrar, esquecer, parecer, encontrar and more.
- Second Conjugation: -er VerbsA1 — The Brazilian Portuguese -er class — regular endings modeled on comer, why so many -er verbs are irregular, and how the imperfect merges -er with -ir.
- Spelling-Change VerbsA2 — Verbs that change spelling — but not sound — to protect a consonant's pronunciation across the conjugation.
- AcharA1 — Full conjugation and usage reference for 'achar' (to think, to find) — the most colloquial BR verb for stating an opinion.
- Presente do Subjuntivo: Regular -er and -ir VerbsA2 — How to form the present subjunctive of regular -er and -ir verbs, which share one set of endings, plus the spelling and stem changes to watch for.