happen

See also: Happen

English

Etymology

From Middle English happenen, equivalent to hap (“a chance, occurrence, byfall”) +‎ -en (verbal suffix).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhapən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /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.
   • 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, 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

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: حدث (Hádatha)

  Moroccan Arabic: وْقع (uqəʕ)

• Armenian: պատահել (patahel)
• Belarusian: здарыцца (zdárycca)
• Bulgarian: се случи (se sluči)
• Catalan: passar (ca), ocórrer (ca), succeir (ca)
• Chinese:

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

• Czech: stát se
• Danish: ske (da), hænde, indtræffe
• Dutch: gebeuren (nl)
• Esperanto: okazi
• Estonian: juhtuma, toimuma (et)
• Finnish: tapahtua (fi), sattua (fi), käydä (fi)
• French: advenir (fr), arriver (fr), se produire (fr), se passer (fr)
• 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 (diadramatízomai), σημειώνομαι (simeiónomai)
• Hebrew: קָרָה (kará), הָלַךְ (he) (halákh)
• Hindi: बीतना (bītnā)
• Hungarian: történik (hu)
• Icelandic: bera við, henda (is), verða (is), vilja til
• Ido: eventar (io)
• Irish: tarlaigh
• Italian: accadere (it), succedere (it)
• Japanese: 起こる (ja) (おこる, okoru), 起る (おこる, okoru)
• Korean: 일어나다 (ireonada)
• Ladino:

  Roman: afitar

• Latin: fieri, fio (la), accido (la), contingo, evenio, cado, intercido, eo (la)

• Latvian: notik
• Lithuanian: atsitikti, vykti (lt), įvykti
• Luhya: esihole
• Norwegian: foregå, inntreffe, skje (no)
• Novial: eventa
• Old English: weorþan, ġeweorþan
• Persian: پیشامد کردن
• Polish: zdarzyć się (pl), wydarzyć się (pl), dziać się (pl), zaistnieć, stać się (pl)
• Portuguese: acontecer (pt), suceder (pt)
• Romanian: întâmpla (ro), petrece (ro)
• Russian: происходить (ru) impf (proisxodít’), произойти (ru) pf (proizojtí); случаться (ru) impf (slučát’sja), случиться (ru) pf (slučít’sja), состояться (ru) pf (sostoját’sja)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese Sardinian: accadésseri, sutzediri

  Gallurese Sardinian: avviné

  Logudorese Sardinian: sutzèdere

• Sassarese Sardinian: 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: 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 (státysja)
• Urdu: بیتنا (bītnā)
• Vietnamese: xảy ra (vi), xảy đến
• Volapük: jenön (vo)
• Walloon: ariver (wa), sorvini, si passer
• Yiddish: געשען (geshen)

Adverb

happen (not comparable)

1. (obsolete or dialect) maybe, perhaps.

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɦɑpə(n)/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

happen (past singular hapte, past participle gehapt)

1. to take a bite

Conjugation

Conjugation of happen (weak)

infinitive	happen
	present tense	past tense
1st person singular	hap	hapte
2nd person singular	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