Happen in different languages

Happen in Different Languages

Discover 'Happen' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.

Updated on March 6, 2024

The word 'happen' is a common English verb that signifies an event or series of events taking place. Its cultural importance is evident in literature, film, and everyday conversations, as it allows us to describe and share our experiences with others. Understanding the translation of 'happen' in different languages can help us connect with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Did you know that 'happen' can be translated into 'suceder' in Spanish, 'arriver' in French, or 'geschehen' in German? Each of these translations carries its own unique cultural connotations and nuances, reflecting the rich linguistic diversity of the world around us.

Whether you're planning a trip abroad, studying a new language, or simply curious about the world around you, learning the translation of 'happen' in different languages can be a fun and rewarding experience. Keep reading to discover more about this fascinating word and its many translations!

Happen


Happen in Sub-Saharan African Languages

Afrikaansgebeur
Cognate with the Dutch word "gebeur" and German "Gebühr", it is related to the Indo-European root *gheb- (
Amharicተከሰተ
The root word ከሰተ is related to the concept of 'error' or 'mistake', as in ከሰተ አይደለም ('it is not a mistake'), implying an element of unexpected occurrence or deviation from the norm.
Hausafaru
The word ''faru'' also means ''to come back'' or ''to be back'' in Hausa.
Igboeme
The Igbo word "eme" also refers to a type of traditional Igbo song or chant.
Malagasyhitranga
Hitranga derives from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root *tuduŋ, which also means "to point".
Nyanja (Chichewa)zichitike
Zichitike is also used in Chichewa to refer to an event that occurs coincidentally or by chance
Shonakuitika
"Kuitika" in Shona can also mean "to be finished, completed, or ended".
Somalidhici
Dhici also means "occur" or "take place" in Somali.
Sesothoetsahala
'Etsa' is a shortened word from '-etsa hala', which is imperative of 'ho etsa', meaning 'to do', 'to make'
Swahilikutokea
The word "kutokea" comes from the verb "tokea", whose primary meaning is "to arise" or "to come out of".
Xhosayenzeke
"Yenzeka" also means "to occur" and "to take place".
Yorubaṣẹlẹ
"Ṣẹlẹ" can also mean "to move," "to go," or "to run". Its root is "ṣẹ" (to do), and "lẹ" (to go).
Zulukwenzeke
In the passive voice the word kwezeke means 'to happen' or 'to be done', but it can also mean 'to be in the state' of doing something.
Bambaraka kɛ
Ewedzɔ
Kinyarwandabibaho
Lingalakosalema
Lugandaobubaawo
Sepedidirega
Twi (Akan)si

Happen in North African & Middle Eastern Languages

Arabicيحدث
Derived from the root "حدوث" (occurrence), "يحدث" also means "to emerge" or "to take place."
Hebrewלִקְרוֹת
The Hebrew word "לִקְרוֹת" can also mean "to occur," "to take place," or "to come to pass."
Pashtoپیښیږي
پېښیږي is derived from the Persian word پیښیستن and is also used in some Iranian languages.
Arabicيحدث
Derived from the root "حدوث" (occurrence), "يحدث" also means "to emerge" or "to take place."

Happen in Western European Languages

Albanianndodh
The Albanian word 'ndodh' is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰē-, meaning 'to put' or 'to set'.
Basquegertatu
The Basque word "gertatu" has an alternate meaning of "to make happen" or "to cause to happen."
Catalanpassar
The verb "passar" in Catalan can also mean "to pass by" or "to go through".
Croatiandogoditi se
The word "dogoditi se" is derived from the Old Slavic word "dogoda", meaning "event" or "encounter".
Danishske
The word "ske" can also mean "to occur" or "to take place".
Dutchgebeuren
"Gebeuren" is cognate with English "behaviour".
Englishhappen
The word "happen" derives from the Old English term "gehappian," meaning "to chance or come about."
Frenchse produire
In French, "se produire" can refer to something occurring, as well as to an artist performing in a show.
Frisianbarre
Besides "happen", "barre" also means "to get" and "to catch" and is probably related to the English verb "bear,
Galicianacontecer
"Acontecer" derives from the Latin word "accadere," which also means "to befall."
Germangeschehen
The word "geschehen" is derived from the Old High German word "skēhan", which means "to separate". It can also refer to an event or occurrence.
Icelandicgerast
The word "gerast" in Icelandic is also used to refer to a specific type of folk song or a rhythmic spell.
Irishtarlú
The Irish "tarlú" is a cognate of the German "tarn", which originally meant "to cover" but has since taken on various new meanings.
Italianaccadere
The word "accadere" derives from the Latin "ad-cadere," meaning "to fall into."
Luxembourgishgeschéien
Maltesejiġri
The word "jiġri" is derived from the Proto-Semitic root "*jgr" meaning "to move, go, or run".
Norwegianskje
Skje is also used in the expression "det skjedde ikke på min vakt", meaning "that didn't happen on my watch".
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil)acontecer
The Portuguese word "acontecer" originated in Latin "ad contingere", meaning both "come into contact" (as people, things or places) in a physical way, and "come into contact" intellectually (as between thoughts, events and experiences), thus acquiring a philosophical connotation.
Scots Gaelictachairt
"Tachart" can also refer to "an occurrence, an incident" and is the origin of "tackart" in the same sense in Scots.
Spanishsuceder
The verb "suceder" is derived from the Latin verb "succedere", meaning "to follow" or "to come after".
Swedishhända
"Hända" in Swedish also means "event" or "occurrence" in contexts unrelated to time.
Welshdigwydd
The term "digwydd" in Welsh is derived from the root word "gwydd," meaning "to know," and is related to the concept of "coming to know" or "becoming aware."

Happen in Eastern European Languages

Belarusianздарыцца
Bosniandesiti se
The word "desiti se" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *děti sę, meaning "to become, to make oneself, to happen."
Bulgarianсе случи
Се случи also means "it happened" or "it has happened."
Czechpřihodit se
The Czech word "přihodit se" also means "to throw something onto something else".
Estonianjuhtuma
"Juhtuma" also means "to become" or "to be" as well as "to come to pass" or "to take place".
Finnishtapahtua
Tapahtua is derived from the Proto-Finnic verb *tapahtua, meaning "to happen" or "to occur".
Hungariantörténik
The word "történik" is derived from the Old Hungarian word "történikni", meaning "to come about, to pass, to take place". It is also related to the word "történelem", meaning "history".
Latviannotikt
The word “notikt” in Latvian also includes the idea of “being present” and “coming into existence” and is more closely related to “to occur” or “to take place” in English.
Lithuanianatsitikti
"Atsitikti" is cognate with several Slavic words that mean "to encounter" or "to take place".
Macedonianсе случи
"се случи" can also mean "to be born" in Macedonian, a usage not found in other Slavic languages
Polishzdarzyć
The word 'zdarzyć' also means to 'succeed' and is related to the word 'zdarzenie' ('event').
Romanianîntâmpla
The Romanian word "întâmpla" is also used to describe the act of welcoming or meeting someone.
Russianслучиться
The word "случиться" is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *slučiti sę, meaning "to happen" or "to occur."
Serbianдесити се
"Десити се" is originally related to "do se, dogoditi se"
Slovakstať sa
The word "stať sa" also means "to become" and is cognate to English "state".
Slovenianzgodilo
The verb zgodilo, with its many meanings such as "happen", "occur", "take place", and "come to pass", can also be used figuratively as "to meet" or "to encounter" someone or something.
Ukrainianтрапиться
"Трапиться" is derived from the word "приключиться" and is not synonymous with the word "случаться"

Happen in South Asian Languages

Bengaliঘটবে
ঘটবে can also mean "to occur," "to take place," or "to come to pass."
Gujaratiથાય છે
The root word of "થાય છે" is "થવો," which also means "to come into existence," "to be born," and "to become."
Hindiहोना
The word "होना" (happen) in Hindi also means "to exist" or "to become.
Kannadaಸಂಭವಿಸುತ್ತದೆ
The word "ಸಂಭವಿಸುತ್ತದೆ" in Kannada has a root in the Sanskrit word "sam-bhav", which means "to come into being" or "to become possible"
Malayalamസംഭവിക്കുക
'സംഭവിക്കുക' is a Malayalam word which also has an alternate meaning 'to meet a girl'
Marathiघडणे
** घडणे**, from PIE root: *gʰendh-*, 'to grasp'.
Nepaliहुन्छ
The word "हुन्छ" in Nepali can also mean "exists" or "is present."
Punjabiਵਾਪਰਨਾ
Sinhala (Sinhalese)සිදුවන්න
Tamilநடக்கும்
The word "நடக்கும்" literally means "to walk" but is also used in the sense of "to happen".
Teluguజరుగుతుంది
Urduہو
The word "ہو" is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "صير" (sir) meaning "to become" or "to happen."

Happen in East Asian Languages

Chinese (Simplified)发生
The word 发生 ('happen' in English) can also be used to mean 'produce' or 'occur'.
Chinese (Traditional)發生
發生 can mean "to generate" or "to occur" in Traditional Chinese.
Japanese起こる
"起こる" can also mean "to get angry" or "to cause".
Korean우연히 있다
우연히 있다(우연) is derived from the Middle Chinese word ’’ngjien’’ meaning chance or encounter, and shares its etymology with the word ’’연분(connection)’’.
Mongolianболох
The Mongolian word "болох" does not have any alternative meanings or etymologies to report.
Myanmar (Burmese)ဖြစ်ပျက်

Happen in South East Asian Languages

Indonesianterjadi
Terjadi derives from the Old Javanese term 'jadi', meaning 'become' or 'realize'.
Javanesekelakon
The word "kelakon" can also mean "to be present" or "to be available", and is derived from the Old Javanese word "kalakon" meaning "to take place".
Khmerកើតឡើង
The word “កើតឡើង” in Khmer can also mean “to be born” or “to originate”.
Laoເກີດຂື້ນ
Malayberlaku
Berlaku also means to be valid, current, or in effect.
Thaiเกิดขึ้น
The term "เกิดขึ้น" can also refer to the origin or emergence of something.
Vietnamesexảy ra
"Xảy ra" also means "to occur" or "to take place".
Filipino (Tagalog)mangyari

Happen in Central Asian Languages

Azerbaijanibaş verir
The word "baş verir" can also mean "to appear" or "to take place" in Azerbaijani.
Kazakhболады
The word "болады" is derived from the root "бол-", which means "to be", and the suffix "-ады", which indicates a past tense. It can also mean "to become" or "to occur".
Kyrgyzболот
The term "болот" also refers to a kind of grass found in the swamps
Tajikрӯй медиҳад
The Tajik word "рӯй медиҳад" can also mean "to come true" or "to occur."
Turkmenbolup geçýär
Uzbeksodir bo'lmoq
The word "sodir bo'lmoq" can also mean "to take place" or "to occur".
Uyghurيۈز بېرىدۇ

Happen in Pacific Languages

Hawaiianhiki
The word 'hiki' in Hawaiian can also refer to the act of moving or pulling something towards oneself.
Maoritupu
The Maori word "tupu" also means "to grow" and is related to the Polynesian word "tupuna" meaning "ancestor".
Samoantupu
In addition to its primary meaning of 'happen,' 'tupu' can also refer to growth, development, or increase.
Tagalog (Filipino)mangyari
The word "mangyari" in Tagalog is derived from the Sanskrit word "mṛṣyati" meaning "to wipe" or "to crush". It is also used in the sense of "to take place" or "to come to pass".

Happen in American Indigenous Languages

Aymarautjayaña
Guaranijehu

Happen in International Languages

Esperantookazi
"okazi" can also mean "to fit" or "to contain" in Esperanto.
Latinfactum
In Latin, "factum" also refers to a deed or act that establishes a legal claim.

Happen in Others Languages

Greekσυμβεί
The word "συμβεί" is derived from the Greek word "συν", meaning "with," and "βαίνω", meaning "to go," and originally meant "to come together with."
Hmongtshwm sim
"Tshwm sim" can also mean "to arrive" or "to be present" in Hmong.
Kurdishbûyin
In Persian, "bûyin" also means "to be able to".
Turkisholmak
Olmak, meaning "to happen", derives from the word "ol," meaning "fire" or "spirit" in the Ural-Altaic language family.
Xhosayenzeke
"Yenzeka" also means "to occur" and "to take place".
Yiddishפּאַסירן
"פּאַסירן" can also mean "to take place", "to occur", or "to come to pass".
Zulukwenzeke
In the passive voice the word kwezeke means 'to happen' or 'to be done', but it can also mean 'to be in the state' of doing something.
Assameseঘটা
Aymarautjayaña
Bhojpuriभईल
Dhivehiވުން
Dogriहोना
Filipino (Tagalog)mangyari
Guaranijehu
Ilocanomapasamak
Krioapin
Kurdish (Sorani)ڕوویدا
Maithiliकोनो घटना भेनाइ
Meiteilon (Manipuri)ꯑꯣꯏꯊꯣꯛꯄ
Mizothleng
Oromota'uu
Odia (Oriya)ଘଟେ |
Quechuaimanay
Sanskritभवति
Tatarбула
Tigrinyaይኽሰት
Tsongahumelela

Click on a letter to browse words starting with that letter