How do you say "it sounds like" and "it looks like" in French?

À moi il ressemble à un navire et pas un bateau.

Il semble qu’elle dise..

Thanks @gailcalled.

Note the use of the subjunctive after “il semble” which indicates a possibility only.

I don’t get that…what do you mean?

Never mind. I thought you were studying French.

Do you know what the subjunctive mode in English is?

No, I’m not studying it. I would go crazy.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pareil is this a good place for pronunciation by the way?

….I don’t know what subjunctive mode in English is.

Check it out. It is helpful to know the subtleties of your own language if you are interested in another one.

But I just care about communicating, just basic communication. Not getting lost, helping a person not get lost, that kind of basic.

OK. Although I do not understand what you mean by not getting lost or helping a person not get lost.

You know, if you go to a foreign country and you make sure to have the basic words and phrases before leaving etc.

I see.

It is confusing enough. Why (edited: use) the word “neuf” for “what’s new?_ “quoi de neuf?” what of nine?”

It happens that neuf means both nine and new in the masculine. The feminine form is neuve. There is also nouveau and nouvelle meaning new in the sense of new to the owner.

I have a new shirt. J’ai une chemise neuve. The shirt is brand new, just out of the plastic bag.
I have nine shirts. J’ai neuf chemises.
I have a new book. J’ai un livre neuf. Just purchased at the book store.

I just put on a new shirt. Je viens de mettre une nouvelle chemise (fresh from the laundry but not brand-new.)

I just bought a new book (meaning new to me but purchased at a used book store). Je viens d’acheter un nouveau livre.

@gailcalled is the language master here, she’s probably better in French than I am, but her translation isn’t quite right. I mean the translation is proper, if you want to get technical, but so that it makes sense in French;

Pour moi ça/cela ressemble à un navire et pas un bateau.

À moi would be technically right if you’re translating word for word, but in meaning, if I wrote that for this sentence in school I would have been so scolded haha. Just for fun, if you’re in trouble, you can yell out À moi! which is a call for help. To me, mateys! lol
In this particular sentence, you would replace il with ça, because ça means it, while il means he. He and she are attributed to words in the French language, but there are a lot of rules which specify when and when not to apply ça or il/elle. which involves lots of grammar, in which I suck
Regarde le bateau, il part. (look at the boat, he’s leaving; works in French) But when saying something looks like something, you would use it/ça, unless it’s a person or a pet or something. But not for objects, or very rarely.
You can also replace pour by selon, which basically means ’‘in my opinion’’. (in that sentence, someone is stating an opinion, or an observation not yet confirmed)

For the other one, it’s not dise, it’s dit. (dee) Il semble qu’elle dit/Il me semble qu’elle dit…you can also say On dirait qu’elle dit. Dirait is the equivalent of, ’‘it seems’’, although technically it would translate to ’‘we could say’’.
Dise is a word mind you, but that doesn’t apply to this particular sentence.

@gailcalled I ain’t trying nothing, and I’m TERRIBLE with French, always had problems at school with grammar and verbs. So, I can’t quite explain why your translations don’t sound right without trying to remember all my lessons, which I spent most of doodling in my books anyways and then getting in trouble, but as far as speaking it, you can trust me lol.

there are a lot of rules which specify when and when not to apply ça or il/elle. which involves lots of grammar, So much work, just for that simple thing.

Re. J’ai un livre neuf. You mean “J’ai un livre neuve” would be wrong?

Flo: I leave it to you to review the different meanings of “neuf, neuve, neuvel” and “nouveau, nouvelle.”

The following are both correct but mean different things.

J’ai un livre neuf.

J’ai un nouveau livre.

@Symbeline: I always (toujours) defer to you and your instincts about your native tongue.

The purists say that “il semble que” takes the subjunctive but that’s book learning only. I remember sweating over those subjunctive rules.

C’est probable qu’il le fait…

Ce n’est pas probable qu’il le fasse…

Est-ce probable qu’il le fasse?

Does that still apply?

I just bought a new book (meaning new to me but purchased at a used book store). Je viens d’acheter un nouveau livre. Why not avoid using the word for new (whichever version) in the first place? Why not just say “I just bought a used book.”?

Je viens de mettre une nouvelle chemise (fresh from the laundry but not brand-new.)
So, why not use the word clean or fresh?

@gailcalled Yup those all work. s’far as I know lol The problem with French as you know, is the insane amount of verbs and times there are, and knowing where to stick what where and when. I mean, there’s stuff in school I’ve learned that I’ve never heard anyone say, ever. Living in Québec, our French here is totally bastardized and Englishified, but frankly, France is no better in any way lol. I’ve always wondered what Belgium French was like.
That said they still teach it to you properly in school, but it’s up to you to retain it. which I’ve never bothered much too, subjunctives pissed me off lol

As for the new/used thing, don’t the differences work both in French and English? There must be some rule or specification which dictates which of the words to use for what meaning, but I’m unsure of what they are.

Technically, I bought a used book at the store, but for me it’s a new book in my book collection. The book itself isn’t new, but for me, it is?
For wearing a clean shirt, in French we would usually say the word propre instead of nouvelle like, je viens de mettre une chemise propre. I suppose because it’s not a new shirt, since it’s one you aalways had, unlike the book you just got, used or not. I mean in English, nobody says I’m wearing a new shirt if it’s one you washed, you’ll say I’m wearing a clean shirt.
But in either languages there’s some rule of application here that I don’t quite get I think. Most likely based on the fact that either one don’t seem wrong, but that one probably is lol.

Here is one place just for when to use “nouveau and neuf”,

I just don’t know what is wrong with utilisé for used anything.

In English it is either used or new (always to the buyer) anything, and it is either fresh/clean clothing item or it is dirty clothing item.

English has it own plenty of make-no-sense stuff too, but not in this case.

The proper word in French for something used, like the book, would be usagé. (from the word usage, which means just this, used, used up) Je viens d’acheter un livre usagé. but saying a new book works just as well, as originally discussed
Utilisé is for using something. Je vais utiliser mon épée.

@flo; Fulminating against the vagaries of another language may be entertaining or it may be simply frustrating and lead to a migraine.

Languages, including English, are filled with idiosyncrasies, (called idioms).

One of my favorites is “L’esprit de l’escalier,” translated literally as “the spirit of the staircase” or “staircase wit.” (courtesy of @SavoirFaire).

That is the expression used to describe the predicament of thinking of the perfect retort too late. You have had words with someone; you are frustrated by your responses; you leave and descend the stairs. Et, voilå! You then know what you should have said.

(@Symbeline. Right? (I no longer trust my rusty skills.)

@Symbeline thank you for that distinction between usagé and utilisé.
@gailcalled Yes, migraine.