струва ми се

It Seems to Me

Level 3Sounds Like struva mi se

Use Струва ми се, че… to soften an opinion: it seems to me that…. Use Изглежда to say how someone or something looks.

How It Works

1. Струва ми се. The person is a short dative pronoun, and the impression usually follows че: Струва ми се, че вали (It seems to me that it's raining). A comma goes before че. It can also stand alone: Така ми се струва (That's how it seems to me).

2. Impressions in the past. For one moment in the past, use the perfective стори: Стори ми се, че някой звъни (I thought someone was ringing). For a longer impression, use струваше: Струваше ми се, че всички ме гледат (It seemed to me that everyone was looking at me).

3. Word order. Ми and се are short forms, so they cannot start the sentence: Струва ми се. When another word comes first, they can follow it: Така ми се струва, На мен ми се струва (see the position of short forms).

4. Изглежда. With an adjective, the adjective agrees with the subject: Изглежда уморен (He looks tired), Изглежда уморена (She looks tired). An adverb such as добре does not change: Изглеждаш добре (You look good). With че, it means apparently: Изглежда, че ще вали (It looks like it will rain).

5. Another meaning of струва. Without се, струва means costs: Колко струва? (How much is it?). Струва си means it's worth it: Филмът си струва (The film is worth it).

6. Other ways to be careful. Compare сигурно, вероятно and може би, the colloquial май, and сякаш (as if).

Examples (6)

  1. Струва ми се, че вали.

    It seems to me that it's raining.

  2. Струва ми се, че сме се срещали.

    I think we have met before.

  3. Стори ми се, че някой звъни на вратата.

    I thought someone was ringing the doorbell.

    Стори: an impression at one moment in the past.

  4. Изглежда уморена след работа.

    She looks tired after work.

    Уморена is feminine to agree with the subject.

  5. Изглежда, че автобусът няма да дойде.

    It looks like the bus isn't coming.

  6. На Иван му се струва, че това е грешка.

    Ivan thinks this is a mistake.

    Word by Word: To Ivan to-him it-seems that this is a mistake.

Common Mistakes

  • Starting the sentence with the short forms.

    Ми се струва, че вали.
    Струва ми се, че вали.

    Ми and се cannot come first in a sentence. Put the verb first, or another word such as на мен.

  • Using the accusative pronoun.

    Струва ме се, че е късно.
    Струва ми се, че е късно.

    The person who has the impression is in the dative: ми, ти, му, ѝ, ни, ви, им.

  • Forgetting agreement after изглежда.

    Тя изглежда уморен.
    Тя изглежда уморена.

    The adjective after изглежда agrees with the subject, so a woman looks уморена.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

струва ми сеLevel 3It Seems to Me

Learn This First

It seems to me combines a dative pronoun and че.

Words in This Pattern

струвам сеизглеждамиизглеждамструвам