2011-12-09

To say "looks like," when do you use "parecer" and when do you use "parecerse"?

I've wondered this for a while.

Studying carefully the Collins Spanish Dictionary entry for parecer, the answer would appear to be that you would use "parecer" (and not "parecerse") if you are saying someone or something looks like some other kind of person or thing ("that cloud looks like a castle" [esa nube parece un castillo], "she looks like a doctor" [ella parece una médica], "this looks like spaghetti" [estos parecen espaguetis]).

If, however, you are saying that someone or something looks like some other specific person or thing, then you would use "parecerse" ("she looks like my sister" [se parece a mi hermana], "their robot looks like Eddy" [su robot se parece a Eddy], "they look alike" [se parecen], "he doesn't look like his picture" [no se parece a su foto]).

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