Parecer vs. parecerse
The Spanish verbs parecer and parecerse both stem from the idea of appearance, but they are used in distinct contexts. Parecer is used to express an opinion or describe how something seems, while parecerse is used to state that two or more things or people are similar or look alike.
Parecer
A2This verb is used to talk about how something or someone seems or appears, or to express an opinion. It describes a general impression and is often followed by an adjective or noun. It is also very common in the structure (me/te/le) parece que... which translates to it seems to me/you/him that....
La película parece interesante.
(The movie seems interesting.)
Tu amigo parece una persona muy amable.
(Your friend seems like a very kind person.)
Me parece que va a llover esta tarde.
(It seems to me that it is going to rain this afternoon.)
El plan parece perfecto.
(The plan looks perfect.)
¿Qué te parece si vamos al cine?
(What do you think if we go to the movies?)
Él parece cansado después del viaje.
(He looks tired after the trip.)
Parecerse
A2This is a reflexive verb used to express a direct comparison of similarity or resemblance between two or more people, animals, or objects. It is almost always followed by the preposition a to introduce the person or thing being compared to.
Te pareces mucho a tu padre.
(You look a lot like your father.)
Mi perro se parece a un zorro pequeño.
(My dog looks like a small fox.)
Estas dos ciudades se parecen en su arquitectura.
(These two cities are similar in their architecture.)
Mi voz no se parece en nada a la de mi hermana.
(My voice is nothing like my sister's.)
Nos parecemos en que a ambos nos encanta la música clásica.
(We are alike in that we both love classical music.)
Su nuevo coche se parece al mío.
(His new car looks like mine.)
Summary
In short, use parecer to describe how something seems or appears or to give an opinion (e.g., parece fácil means it seems easy). Use parecerse a to say that something or someone looks like or resembles another (e.g., se parece a su hermano means he looks like his brother). The key is that parecerse always involves a comparison between two entities.