happen

See also Happen

English

Etymology

From Middle English happenen

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈhapən/
• (US) IPA: /ˈhæpən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  Rhymes: -æpən

Verb

happen (third-person singular simple present happens, present participle happening, simple past and past participle happened)

1. To occur or take place.

   Let me tell you how it happened.

2. To occur unexpectedly, by chance or with a low probability.

   Take an umbrella in case it happens to rain.

3. (followed by on or upon) To encounter by chance.
   • 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, ch. 30:

     Unexpectedly, in a nook close by the farmhouse, he happened upon a spot where the vintage had actually commenced.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

Terms derived from happen

as it happens happen along happener

happeningly it so happens

Related terms

• happening
• happenstance

Translations

to occur

Albanian: ndodhë (sq) Arabic: حدث (ar) (Hádatha) Armenian: պատահել (hy) (patahel) Belarusian: здарыцца (be) (zdárycca) Bulgarian: се случи (bg) (se sluči) Catalan: passar, ocórrer, succeir Chinese: Mandarin: 發生 (cmn), 发生 (cmn) (fāshēng) Czech: stát se Danish: ske (da), hænde (da), indtræffe (da) Dutch: gebeuren (nl) Esperanto: okazi (eo) Estonian: juhtuma (et), toimuma (et) Finnish: tapahtua (fi), sattua (fi), käydä (fi) French: advenir (fr), arriver (fr), se produire (fr), se passer (fr) Georgian: მოხდომა (ka) (moxdoma) German: geschehen (de), passieren (de), stattfinden (de) Greek: συμβαίνω (el) (simvéno), τυχαίνω (el) (tiçéno), λαχαίνω (el) (laçéno), τυγχάνω (el) (tiŋxáno), διαδραματίζομαι (el) (ðiaðramatízome), σημειώνομαι (el) (simiónome) Hebrew: הָלַךְ (he) (halak) Hindi: बीतना (hi) (bītnā) Hungarian: történik (hu) Icelandic: bera við (is), henda (is), verða (is), vilja til (is) Ido: eventar (io) Irish: tarlaigh (ga) Italian: accadere (it), succedere (it) Japanese: 起こる (ja) (おこる, okoru), 起る (ja) (おこる, okoru) Korean: 일어낟 (ko) (ireonada)

Ladino: Latin: afitar, eo (la) Latin: fieri (la), fio (la), accido (la), contingo (la), evenio (la), cado (la), intercido (la) Latvian: notik (lv) Lithuanian: atsitikti (lt), vykti (lt), įvykti (lt) Luhya: esihole Norwegian: foregå (no), inntreffe (no), skje (no) Old English: weorþan (ang), ġeweorþan (ang) Persian: پیشامد کردن (fa) Polish: zdarzyć się (pl), wydarzyć się (pl), dziać się (pl), zaistnieć (pl), stać się (pl) Portuguese: acontecer (pt), suceder (pt) Romanian: întâmpla (ro), petrece (ro) Russian: происходить (ru) (proisxodít’) impf., произойти (ru) (proizojtí) pf.; случаться (ru) (slučát’sja) impf., случиться (ru) (slučít’sja) pf., состояться (ru) (sostoját’sja) pf. Scottish Gaelic: tachair (gd), turchair (gd), tàrlaidh (gd) Seri: aaha Slovak: stať sa (sk) Slovene: please add this translation if you can Spanish: suceder (es), ocurrir (es), pasar (es) Swahili: tukiyo (sw) Swedish: hända (sv), ske (sv), inträffa (sv), äga rum (sv) Thai: เกิด (th) (gèrt) Turkish: olmak (tr), yer bulmak (tr), meydana gelmek (tr) Ukrainian: статися (uk) (státysja) Urdu: بیتنا (ur) (bītnā) Vietnamese: xảy ra (vi), xảy đến (vi) Yiddish: געשען (yi) (geshen)

Adverb

happen (not comparable)

1. (obsolete or dialect) maybe, perhaps.

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɦɑpə(n)/

Verb

happen (weak in -t)

1. to take a bite

Conjugation

Conjugation of happen

infinitive	happen
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	hap	hapte
2nd person singular	hapt	hapte
3rd person singular	hapt	hapte
plural	happen	hapten
subjunctive sing.1	happe	hapte
subjunctive plur.1	happen	hapten
imperative sing.	hap
imperative plur.1	hapt
participles	happend	(hebben) gehapt
1) Archaic.

Noun

happen

1. Plural form of hap.