apparaïre

Apparaïre is a rarely used spelling of the French verb apparaître, meaning to appear or become visible. In standard modern French, the preferred form is apparaître; apparaïre appears chiefly in historical or regional texts, often to indicate a hiatus between vowels. The diaeresis on the i signals that the i is pronounced in a separate syllable rather than as part of a diphthong.

Etymology and relation to other verbs: apparaître comes from Old French apparaître, ultimately from Latin apparēre. It is closely related to paraître, the latter meaning to seem or to publish, whereas apparaître denotes actual appearance or emergence.

Usage notes: apparaître denotes literal appearance or emergence of a person, object, or phenomenon (the sun appearing, a figure materializing, a problem emerging). Paraître is used for seeming or perceived quality, or for publication (to appear in print).

Conjugation and forms: apparaître is conjugated with être in compound tenses, as in il est apparu. The present tense forms are: j'apparais, tu apparais, il apparaît, nous apparaissons, vous apparaissez, ils apparaissent. The imperfect is j'apparaissais, tu apparaissais, il apparaissait, nous apparaissions, vous apparaissiez, ils apparaissaient. The past historic is j'apparus, tu apparus, il apparut, nous apparûmes, vous apparûtes, ils apparurent. The future is j'apparaîtrai, tu apparaîtras, il apparaîtra, nous apparaîtrons, vous apparaîtrez, ils apparaîtront. The present subjunctive: que j'apparaisse, que tu apparisses, qu'il apparaisse, que nous apparaissions, que vous apparaissiez, qu'ils apparaissent. The imperative is apparais, apparaissons, apparaissez. The past participle is apparu; the infinitive is apparaître.

See also: paraître. This verb contrasts with apparaître in usage but shares a common semantic field related to appearance and perception.