To seem: Italian grammar lesson 95

Today’s lesson is about the equivalent of the verbs “to seem” or “to look” in Italian. How to use sembrare in Italian? Let’s learn it with simple rules and examples and practice with audio lessons.

Start here

You’ll receive my free resources together with my best offers! Opt out at any time.

Sembrare

We use sembrare when we want to give a personal opinion about something or someone.

Usually, it’s followed by an adjective (a word that describes something or someone), such as carino (nice), strano (strange), or stanco (tired).

Let’s have a look at some examples:

Sembri stanca. Stai bene?

You seem tired. Are you ok?

Loro sembrano simpatici.

They seem nice.

Tua mamma sembrava arrabbiata.

Your mum seemed angry.

To seem in Italian

Sembrare: conjugation

Sembrare is a regular verb ending in -ARE like parlare, camminare, cucinare, etc. This means its conjugation is pretty simple.

Let’s have a look at it:

  • Io sembro (I seem)
  • Tu sembri (You seem)
  • Lui/lei sembra (He/She seems)
  • Noi sembriamo (We seem)
  • Voi sembrate (You seem)
  • Loro sembrano (They seem)

Of course, this verb can also be used in pastand future tenses.

Sembrare to seem

Mi sembra

If we want to specify who something seems nice to, we need an indirect object pronoun.

Let’s have a look at all of them:

  • mi: (to) me
  • ti: (to) you
  • gli/le: (to) him/ her
  • ci: (to) us
  • vi: (to) you
  • gli: (to) them
Free Guide
How to Learn Languages Fast

Have a look at these two very similar sentences, but with a very slight difference:

Lei sembra tanto carina.

She seems very nice.

Lei mi sembra tanto carina.

She seems very nice to me.

How to say to seem Italian

Practice with Quizlet

Here's a set of flashcards and quizzes to practice this grammar topic.

Sembrare: examples

Now that you know the conjugation and the role of indirect object pronouns like mi, ti, gli, etc.

Let’s have a look at some more examples:

Ci sembra inutile parlare con il professore.

It seems useless to us to talk to the teacher.

Stasera sembravate arrabbiate.

You looked angry tonight.

Come ti è sembrato il suo fidanzato?

How did her boyfriend seem to you?

Sembri sorpreso. Non lo sapevi?

You seem surprised. Did you not know?

Tu sembri you seem

Still translating in your head? Wanna speak Italian for real? Check out Stefano's courses to think directly in Italian and become fluent fast!

FAQs on To seem: Italian grammar lesson 95

What does sembrare mean in Italian?

The word "Sembrare" is an Italian verb that is commonly used in the third person to convey the meaning of "to seem.

What does Sembra in Italian mean?

In Italian, the word "sembra" is used as the third person singular form of the English verb "to seem".

Stefano

Italian language tutor, course author, and polyglot. After learning 12 languages, I can tell you that we all master languages by listening and mimicking. With my method, you'll be speaking Italian from Lesson 1.

Follow me to fluency​

Receive my free resources once a week together with my best offers! No need to look around, just tell me where to send everything.

Follow me to fluency

Receive my free resources once a week together with my best offers! No need to look around, just tell me where to send everything.

Opt out at any time.

Leave a Reply

Share:

Still translating in your head?

Wanna speak Italian for real? Check out Stefano’s courses to think directly in Italian and become fluent fast!
Try my courses for free​
ripeti con me mockup sm

Let me show you around

Overcome your Barriers

Anything holding you back from becoming fluent?
Get on the right track today with my free checklist!

pain learning languages checklist preview
How long to fluency?

Find out how long it will take you to master Italian!
Get on the right track in 3 minutes.

dolce vita logo

We're already friends!

Coming from Luca and Marina?
Here's a special deal for you!
Just tell me where I should send the coupon.

50% OFF
all language resources

We're already friends!

Coming from All Language Resources?
Here's a special deal for you!
Just tell me where I should send the coupon.

50% OFF
GRAB A COUPON NOW, REDEEM IT LATER
50% OFF

To receive free resources once a week together with my best offers, just tell me where to send everything. Opt out at any time.