While the most common translation for the Spanish verb encontrar is "to find," this verb is quite versatile and can be used to express a plethora of ideas. Let's take a look at some notable examples. 

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As previously stated, encontrar most typically means "to find" in the sense of "locate" or "discover," as in the following examples:
 

...desde Argentina hasta México, podemos encontrar cumbia.

...from Argentina to Mexico, we can find cumbia.

Caption 24, Sonido Babel - La cumbia

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Pero abuelo,

But Grandpa,

yo encontré muchas cosas para hacer el regalo de Guillermina. 

I found a lot of things to make Guillermina's gift.

Caption 14, Guillermina y Candelario - La Peluqueria del Mar

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However, the verb encontrar has several additional uses. It is frequently seen in its reflexive form, encontrarse, which, similarly to the verb estar, can mean "to be" or "find oneself":

Porque Barcelona se encuentra entre el mar y la montaña.

Because Barcelona is located between the sea and the mountains.

Caption 14, Blanca - Sobre la ciudad de Barcelona

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Sí, el Señor Aldo Sirenio no se encuentra en este momento en la empresa.

Yes, Mister Aldo Sirenio is not at the company at the moment.

Caption 35, Yago - 5 La ciudad

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La gente verdaderamente se encuentra muy preocupada.

People are truly very worried.

Caption 19, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 1

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Note that, like the verb estar (to be), encontrarse can refer to physical location, a temporary state of being, or the fact of being physically present. For this reason, any of the previous examples could be replaced by the verb estar with no change in translation as follows: 

-Porque Barcelona está entre el mar y la montaña

-Sí, el Señor Aldo Sirenio no está en este momento en la empresa.

-La gente verdaderamente está muy preocupada

Now, let's look at an example where encontrarse might be more literally translated as "to find onself":

De nuevo me encuentro sin un solo centavo

Again I find myself without a single cent

Caption 40, Control Machete - El Apostador

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That said, should a Spanish speaker ask you, "¿Cómo te encuentras?" ("How are you?" or "How do you feel?"), possible answers might include, "Estoy bien" (I'm well), "Más o menos" (OK), or "Me siento mal" (I feel bad). Just don't say "Estoy aquí" (I'm here) since this question most definitely does not refer to your whereabouts! If the question is "¿Dónde te encuentras?" (Where are you?), on the other hand, "Estoy en casa" (I'm at home), or wherever you might be, would be a perfectly acceptable response.

Now, let's look at some alternative meanings of the regular (non-reflexive) form of encontrar, which can also be used in a similar manner as the verb parecer (to seem): 

Bueno, doctor, y a mi enfermito ¿cómo lo encuentra?

Well, Doctor, and my little patient, how is he?

Captions 23-24, El Ausente - Acto 1

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Si al mundo lo encuentras enfermizo, delirante y brutal

If you find the world sickly, delirious and brutal

Caption 2, SiZu Yantra - Bienvenido

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Although the first example could literally be translated as "How do you find him?" a viable Spanish alternative could be ¿Cómo le parece? (How does he seem to you?), as the doctor is essentially being questioned about his opinion regarding the state of the patient. As the second example also uses the concept of "finding" to describe one's opinion, si el mundo le parece enfermizo (if the world seems sickly to you) expresses a similar idea. 

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Finally, like in English, encontrar can be used to indicate a determination of fact, or "finding":

El jurado lo encontró culpable por robo en primer grado.  

The jury found him guilty of first-degree theft. 

These are just some of the many uses of the verb encontrar. We hope that you have found them useful y que no te encuentres muy agobiado/a (you don't feel too overwhelmed). And don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions!

Did you wonder why it's "lo mismo" and not "el mismo" or "la misma" in our examples above? The answer is that "lo" is the neuter article in Spanish and it is used to stand in for an abstract idea, concept, category or quality--in other words, something that's not a concrete object or person. One way to translate it is as "thing" -- but sometimes there's no easy translation.
 

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Here are some more phrases that take "lo" before an adjective:

lo bueno = "the good part, what's good"
lo fácil = "the easy part, what's easy"
lo important es que... = "the important thing is that..."
lo mío = "(that which is) mine"
lo nuestro = "(that which is) ours"
lo más = "the most" -- as in LoMásTv, of course!

Let's look at the refrain once more (with "lo" as our focus):

No es lo mismo una sospecha que saberlo de verdad

A suspicion isn't the same [thing] as knowing it for sure

No es saberlo de verdad lo mismo que una sospecha

Knowing it for sure isn't the same [thing] as a suspicion

Captions 7-8, Circo - La sospecha

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Now, you've noted that "lo" is standing in for something unknown in this song -- something that's neither masculine nor feminine per se. When "lo" appears before an adjective or adverb, it's easy to recognize as neuter. But, to complicate matters, "lo" can also be a masculine direct object -- as in, "Lo vi" ("I saw him"). The only way to straighten out whether "lo" is a masculine or neuter object in a sentence is via the context.

In our Circo song lyrics, the second "lo" (-- "saberlo") also stands in for something undefined. As the direct object of a verb, lo works in a similar way in these common phrases:

Lo siento = "Sorry" (or, literally, "I feel it")
No lo sabía = "I didn't know [it]"
No quiero saberlo = "I don't want to know [it]"

For more on the neuter, see

ThoughtCo.com > Spanish language > The neuter gender in Spanish

When we premiered the spacy music video Bienvenido by Sizu Yantra several months ago, we received this letter:

If someone had asked me to translate "if you find the world sickly" I might have come up with "si el mundo tú encuentras enfermizo"... could someone explain why the "lo" is in there? --DonJorge, San Mateo, CA

Si al mundo lo encuentras enfermizo, delirante y brutal...

If you find the world sickly, delirious and brutal...

Caption 2, SiZu Yantra - Bienvenido

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When lo is not busy working as a neuter article (e.g. lo importante, "the important thing/what's important"), or as an "undefined" neuter direct object (e.g. No puedo creerlo, "I can't believe it"), lo can also be found serving duty as the masculine singular direct object pronoun, just as la does as the feminine singular direct object pronoun.

¿Dónde encontraste el perro?
Lo encontré en la calle.
Where did you find the dog?
I found it on the street.

¿Desde cuándo has querido a María?
Siempre la he querido.
Since when have you loved Maria?
I have always loved her.

¿Quien rompió la mesa?
Juan la rompío.
Who broke the table?
Juan broke it.

As you can see, when we mention the direct object by name (e.g., el perro), it comes after the verb. When we replace it, the direct object pronoun (such as lo, or la) comes before the verb.

However, it is permissible in Spanish to mention your direct object by name AND put it before the verb, but if you do this you must include both the object and its pronoun. When we do this we provide more emphasis to the direct object, as Sizu Yantra emphasizes "el mundo" in the example above.
 

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Al perro lo encontré en la calle.
I found the dog in the street.

La mesa la rompió Juan.
Juan broke the table.

Now's a good time to go back and take another listen to Bienvenido by Sizu Yantra! (it's in the "Music Videos" section).

Pero al desear siempre un poco más... por allá ya vas

But by wanting always a little more... you're already going there

Captions 7-8, SiZu Yantra - Bienvenido

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References (such as this one) would suggest that al desear here could be translated as "when wanting" or "in wishing," but we went with "by wanting." The idea here is that one action leads to the other, the desire in itself makes you move forward. An equally acceptable translation here would be "in wanting always..."

Al cambiar de actitud, la mayoría de la gente puede cambiar el modo en que otros los tratan.
By changing their attitude, most people can change the way others treat them.

Al confesarle la verdad, le dio la posibilidad de evaluar la situación.
By telling the truth, he gave her the opportunity to assess the situation.

Al dejar a aquella mujer, pudo comenzar una nueva vida.
By leaving that woman, he could start a new life.

Final note about Sizu's Bienvenido: You will probably find captions 10 and 12, in particular, rather unusual in terms of sentence structure. These lines can have even native speakers scratching their heads and are not typical Spanish.

From the clarity of the diction and the pacing of the music, you might think Sizu Yantra's tune Bienvenido would be easy to translate. But you'd be wrong. Some lyrics drove us to semantic delirium! Here is the opening:

Y si tú ya estás aquí, yo quisiera preguntarte

And if you're already here, I would like to ask you

si al mundo lo encuentras enfermizo, delirante y brutal

if you find the world sickly, delirious and brutal

Tú ya estás aquí y deseando que tú goces...

You're already here and [I am] desiring that you enjoy [it]...

Captions 1-3, SiZu Yantra - Bienvenido

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The very first line of lyrics is clearly enunciated and seemingly unambiguous -- with personal pronouns tú and yo included to set the listener off on the right foot. OK: it's sort of trippy, but we have every reason to believe we are hearing what the songwriter wanted us to hear.

But we get to the second sentence (caption 3) and native English speakers may find themselves at a bit of a loss. "Deseando" -- the gerund of the verb desear ("to desire, to wish, to look forward to") -- has no immediately apparent subject. So, how would we know to translate "deseando" as if it were the first person, progressive, "estoy deseando"? There are a few clues to solve this mystery. Let's investigate:

1. Gerunds -aka -ndo verbs-- are usually used as part of the progressive tense in Spanish. Note that they are not entirely interchangeable with "-ing verbs" in English, which have many more uses. (See: Gerunds and the progressive tenses.)
2. After "deseando," we encounter the common "que" which is most often used to introduce a subordinate clause in a complex sentence.
3. After "que" we hear "tú goces" -- i.e., the second-person, present subjunctive of the verb gozar ("to enjoy"). Yes, here's the dreaded subjunctive -- the verb "mood" that means or implies the imposition of will, emotion, doubt, or non-existence. (See: Understanding the Subjuntive Mood in Spanish.) You see, after an expression of desire, Spanish grammar demands the subjunctive in the subordinate clause if the person doing the desiring is different from the object of that wish. And that, in turn, means "you" ("tú") cannot be the one doing the desiring ("deseando"). Got that?
4. Let's back up and approach the subordinate clause another way. Spanish grammar rules demand that if the two verbs (desear and gozar) had the same subject, the second verb would take the infinitive.
   Yo quiero irme
   I want to go
   If the subject changes, the second verb takes the subjunctive.
   Yo quiero que te vayas
   I want you to go

If this detective work seems complicated, remember that in English we have a similar situation with "Wish you were here." Taken on its own, this seemingly simple sentiment has an implied subject (Could it be "I wish"? Or: "We wish"?) and then a subordinate clause using the subjunctive. At the end of the day, the subject is left to context -- or the listener's own interpretation.
 

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Back to our slippery song. "Deseando que tú goces" was finally translated as "I am desiring that you enjoy it..." because it matches best with the first line of the song (where "yo" is introduced) -- and doesn't break any grammar rules. Whew. Keep listening, for more constructive confusion!