sembler in literary & formal French
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Appearance and reality, in formal register.
Sembler in formal French
Formal writing prefers paraître to sembler in many contexts: « il paraît que » — apparently, it is said that. The two overlap heavily, but paraître leans toward reported information and sembler toward personal impression.
The literary phrase ce me semble — it seems to me — inverts the pronoun and is now purely archaic or humorous. Recognise it in older texts; never produce it.
💡 Focus at this level: Literary & formal
👨🏫 How to use « sembler » at this level
1. « Il paraît que » = apparently, reportedly. Common even in speech.
2. Sembler = my impression; paraître = what is said.
3. « Ce me semble » is archaic. Read only.
Il paraît que c’est fermé.Apparently it’s closed.
Cela semblait improbable.That seemed improbable.
Il sembla hésiter un instant.He seemed to hesitate for a moment.
Les apparences semblent le confirmer.Appearances seem to confirm it.
🎮 Practise « sembler »
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