happen

See also: Happen

English

Etymology

From Middle English happenen, happen, from Old Norse *happa, *heppa, itself from Proto-Germanic *hampijaną (“to fit in, be fitting”). Equivalent to hap (“a chance, occurrence, byfall”) +‎ -en (verbal suffix).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhapən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhæpən/
• (AAVE) IPA^(key): [ˈhæpn̩], [ˈhæmm̩]

• 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.
   • 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:

     Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.

   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.

   Do you happen to have an umbrella?

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

Synonyms

• (To occur or take place): come to pass

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
• Arabic: حَدَثَ‏‎ (ḥadaṯa)

  Moroccan Arabic: وْقع‏‎ (uqəʕ)

• Armenian: պատահել (hy) (patahel)
• Azeri: vaqe olmaq (az)
• Belarusian: здарыцца (zdárycca)
• Bulgarian: случвам се (slučvam se), ставам (bg) (stavam)
• Catalan: passar (ca), ocórrer (ca), succeir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 發生, 发生 (faat³ sang¹)

  Mandarin: 發生 (zh), 发生 (zh) (fāshēng)

• Czech: stát se
• Danish: ske (da), hænde, indtræffe
• Dutch: gebeuren (nl)
• Esperanto: okazi (eo)
• Estonian: juhtuma, toimuma (et)
• Faroese: henda, gerast
• Finnish: tapahtua (fi), sattua (fi), käydä (fi)
• French: arriver (fr), se produire (fr), se passer (fr), advenir (fr)
• Galician: suceder, pasar (gl), ocorrer (gl), acontecer (gl)
• Gallurese: avviné
• Georgian: მოხდომა (moxdoma)
• German: geschehen (de), passieren (de), stattfinden (de)

  Alemannic German: passiere

• Greek: συμβαίνω (el) (symvaíno), τυχαίνω (el) (tychaíno), λαχαίνω (el) (lachaíno), τυγχάνω (el) (tyncháno), διαδραματίζομαι (el) (diadramatízomai), σημειώνομαι (simeiónomai)
• Hebrew: קָרָה‏‎ (kará), הָלַךְ‏‎ (he) (halákh)
• Hindi: बीतना (hi) (bītnā)
• Hungarian: történik (hu)
• Icelandic: bera við, henda (is), verða (is), vilja til, gerast (is)
• Ido: eventar (io)
• Irish: tarlaigh
• Italian: accadere (it), succedere (it), occorrere (it)
• Japanese: 起こる (ja) (おこる, okoru), 起る (おこる, okoru)
• Khmer: កើតឡើង (km) (kaət laəŋ), កើត (km) (kaət)
• Korean: 일어나다 (ko) (ireonada)
• Ladino:

  Roman: afitar

• Latin: fieri (la), fio (la), accido (la), contingo, evenio (la), cado (la), intercido, eo (la)
• Latvian: notik
• Lithuanian: atsitikti, vykti (lt), įvykti
• Luhya: esihole
• Macedonian: се случува impf (se slučuva), се случи pf (se sluči)
• Maore Comorian: uhidjiri
• Ngazidja Comorian: uhundra (+ direct object)
• Norwegian: foregå, inntreffe, skje (no)
• Novial: eventa
• Old English: weorþan, ġeweorþan
• Old Turkic: 𐰉𐰆𐰞‏‎ (bol-)
• Persian: پیشامد کردن‏‎
• Polish: zdarzyć się (pl), wydarzyć się (pl), dziać się (pl), zaistnieć, stać się (pl)
• Portuguese: acontecer (pt), suceder (pt)
• Quechua: tukuy (qu)
• Romanian: întâmpla (ro), petrece (ro)
• Russian: происходи́ть (ru) impf (proisxodítʹ), произойти́ (ru) pf (proizojtí); случа́ться (ru) impf (slučátʹsja), случи́ться (ru) pf (slučítʹsja), состоя́ться (ru) pf (sostojátʹsja)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: accadésseri, sutzediri

  Logudorese: sutzèdere

• Sassarese: accadí
• Scottish Gaelic: tachair, turchair, tàrlaidh
• Serbo-Croatian: (reflexive) dogoditi (sh)
• Seri: aaha
• Slovak: stať sa
• Slovene: zgodíti se
• Spanish: suceder (es), ocurrir (es), pasar (es)
• Swahili: kutukia, kutokea
• Swedish: hända (sv), ske (sv), inträffa (sv), äga rum (sv)
• Thai: เกิด (th) (gə̀ət)
• Turkish: olmak (tr), yer bulmak (tr), meydana gelmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: става́тися impf (stavátysja), ста́тися pf (státysja), трапля́тися impf (trapljátysja),тра́питися pf (trápytysja)
• Urdu: بیتنا‏‎ (bītnā)
• Vietnamese: xảy ra (vi), xảy đến
• Volapük: jenön (vo)
• Walloon: ariver (wa), sorvini (wa), si passer (wa)
• Yiddish: געשען‏‎ (geshen)

Adverb

happen (not comparable)

1. (obsolete or dialect) maybe, perhaps.

---

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɦɑpə(n)/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

happen

1. to take a bite

Inflection

Inflection of happen (weak)
infinitive	happen
past singular	hapte
past participle	gehapt
infinitive	happen
gerund	happen n
verbal noun	—
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	hap	hapte
2nd person sing. (jij)	hapt	hapte
2nd person sing. (u)	hapt	hapte
2nd person sing. (gij)	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	gehapt
1) Archaic.

Noun

happen

1. Plural form of hap