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Both can mean 'parecer', but one is based on visual appearance and the other on general impression.
Side-by-side comparison
"Look" is based on visual appearance: you describe what you see with your eyes. "She looks tired" = she appears tired from the way she looks physically.
She looks tired.
That looks delicious!
He looks like his father.
"Seem" gives a general impression, not necessarily visual. It can be based on logic, what you hear, or the situation. "It seems unlikely" = it appears unlikely based on the evidence.
It seems like a good idea.
She seems to know everyone here.
Something seems wrong. I can feel it.
Common mistake
- •"Something looks wrong, I can feel it" is contradictory: if you feel it but don't see it, use "seem".
- •"Look" implies direct visual impression.
- •"Seem" works for general impressions based on any type of evidence.
Trick to remember it
- •Does the impression come from what you see with your eyes? "Look".
- •Is it a mix of signals (visual, logical, emotional)? "Seem".
- •Test: can you add "with my eyes"? If not, use "seem".
Quick rule
- •Does the impression come from what you see visually? "Look".
- •Is the impression general, not just visual? "Seem".
Did you know?
"Seem" pairs naturally with infinitives in a way LOOK does not: "She seems to know everyone" is perfectly natural. "She looks to know everyone" does not work. Also, "it seems" as an introductory phrase is very frequent in formal and academic English for expressing elegant uncertainty or tentative conclusions: "It seems that the hypothesis requires further testing." "It looks like" is more informal and more visual: "It looks like it might rain." Linguistic pragmatics researchers study the difference between "it seems" (more epistemic, evidence-based) and "it looks like" (more perceptual, more immediate) as markers of certainty and modality in academic discourse.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
You _____ tired. Did you sleep well last night?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She _____ s happy in the photos. She has a big smile in all of them.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One is perceiving visually without effort, the other is looking at something attentively.
"Above" is at a higher level without contact; "over" implies covering, movement, or crossing.
'Currently' means 'at the present time'; 'actually' means 'in reality', not 'nowadays'.
"Actually" corrects or contrasts an assumption; "really" intensifies or confirms.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy