sembler

to seem, to appear

s ɑ̃ . b l e
sembl to seem, to appear + er Infinitive
verb Rare #33,694
to seem, to appear Often followed by an adjective, or by “de” plus an infinitive.
FR: Je vais sembler bizarre.
EN: I'm going to seem strange.
Conjugation of sembler
Indicative present
SingularPlural
First semble —
Second — semblez
Third semble semblent
Subjunctive present
SingularPlural
First semble —
Third semble semblent
Imperative
SingularPlural
Second semble semblez
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
Third semblait semblaient
Past
Indicative past
SingularPlural
Third sembla —
sembler

Je ne veux pas sembler pessimiste.

I don't want to seem pessimistic.

On m'a dit que je dois sembler maternel et manger beaucoup de pâtes.

I was told that I have to seem maternal and eat lots of pasta.

— Huit et demi (1963)

Ça pourrait sembler comme si tu t'offrais un cadeau.

It might seem as though you were giving yourself a gift.

La maison va sembler vide sans toi.

The house will seem empty without you.

Ça va te sembler curieux.

This is going to seem strange to you.

— Il était Temps (2013)

Je peux sembler cruel de prime abord, mais je tiens toujours parole.

I may seem cruel at first, but I always keep my word.

— Ne Zha 2 (2025)

Tout ça doit vous sembler démodé.

All this must seem old-fashioned to you.

— Star Trek IV : Retour sur Terre (1986)

Ça va sembler ringard, je ne pensais pas qu'on puisse être si belle au réveil.

This is going to sound cheesy, but I didn’t think it was possible to look so beautiful first thing in the morning.

— La Femme de ménage (2025)

Les filles excitées peuvent parfois sembler jolies.

Horny girls can sometimes look pretty.

Vos hallucinations peuvent sembler très réelles, même si ce n'est pas le cas.

Your hallucinations may seem very real, even though they aren’t.

— La Femme de ménage (2025)

Non, quinze pour dix, ça commençait à me sembler complètement insensé.

No, at fifteen to ten, it was starting to seem completely insane to me.

Sounds similar to