Aquest examen sembla més fàcil que l'altre.

Because examen is a masculine singular noun in Catalan, so it takes the masculine singular demonstrative aquest.

Agreement pattern:

• aquest = this (masculine singular)
• aquesta = this (feminine singular)
• aquests = these (masculine plural)
• aquestes = these (feminine plural)

So:

• aquest examen = this exam
• aquesta prova = this test

Even though examen does not end in a typically masculine-looking ending, it is still masculine.

Sembla comes from the verb semblar, which means to seem or to appear.

It is sembla because the subject is aquest examen, which is third person singular:

• jo semblo = I seem
• tu sembles = you seem
• ell/ella sembla = he/she/it seems

So Aquest examen sembla... literally means This exam seems...

In this sentence, sembla expresses appearance or impression, not an absolute fact.

There is a small but important difference:

• sembla més fàcil = seems easier
• és més fàcil = is easier

So sembla is more cautious or subjective. It suggests an impression:

• Aquest examen sembla més fàcil que l'altre. = This exam seems easier than the other one.

If you say:

• Aquest examen és més fàcil que l'altre. you are stating it more directly as a fact.

This is the normal Catalan pattern for comparatives of superiority:

més + adjective + que
= more + adjective + than

So:

• més fàcil = easier / more easy
• més fàcil que l'altre = easier than the other one

Other useful comparison patterns:

• menys difícil que = less difficult than
• tan fàcil com = as easy as

Catalan usually does not form comparatives by changing the adjective itself the way English does with easy → easier. Instead, it normally uses més.

Here que means than.

So:

• més fàcil que l'altre = easier than the other one

Be careful: que is a very common word in Catalan and can also mean that, depending on the sentence. But in comparative structures like this one, it means than.

Because l' is the shortened form of the definite article el or la before a vowel sound.

Here, altre begins with a vowel, so:

• el altre becomes l'altre

In this sentence, l'altre means the other one or the other exam.

The noun examen is not repeated because Catalan, like English, often leaves it out when it is understood:

• Aquest examen sembla més fàcil que l'altre. = This exam seems easier than the other one / exam.

Because it is understood from the context.

Catalan often avoids repeating a noun when it is obvious:

• Aquest examen sembla més fàcil que l'altre. Literally: This exam seems easier than the other.

You could make it explicit and say:

• Aquest examen sembla més fàcil que l'altre examen.

But that sounds more repetitive. The shorter version is more natural.

They have accents for different reasons:

• més has an accent to distinguish it from mes.

  • més = more
  • mes = month

• fàcil has an accent to mark the stressed syllable correctly.

So the accents are important both for pronunciation and, in the case of més, for meaning.

Fàcil means easy. It agrees in number, but not in masculine/feminine in the singular.

Forms:

• fàcil = easy (singular)
• fàcils = easy (plural)

Examples:

• un examen fàcil = an easy exam
• una pregunta fàcil = an easy question
• dos exàmens fàcils = two easy exams

So in your sentence, més fàcil agrees with aquest examen, which is singular.

A rough guide for an English speaker is:

ah-KEST eg-ZA-men SEM-bluh mes FA-sil kuh LAL-truh

A few helpful notes:

• aquest: the final t is usually light
• examen: stress is on -za-
• sembla: the e is not a strong English eh; it is more neutral
• fàcil: stress is on the first syllable
• l'altre: the article links directly to the next word

This is only an approximation, but it can help you start saying it more naturally.

This is the normal and most neutral word order:

Aquest examen + sembla + més fàcil + que l'altre

That is:

• subject
• verb
• complement
• comparison

Catalan can sometimes vary word order for emphasis, but this version is the standard one you should learn first. It sounds natural and straightforward.