# happen: Japanese–English dictionary

Canonical URL: https://anaversity.com/dictionary/japanese-english/happen
Language pair: Japanese and English
CEFR level: A1
Part of speech: verb
IPA: /ˈhæpən/
Katakana pronunciation: ハプン

## Meaning in English
When an event or situation occurs — usually without being planned. Things happen when they take place in the real world. You can also say something 'happened to' a person when an event affected them.
### 日本語の意味
出来事や状況が（たいていは計画なしに）起きること。現実の世界で何かが起きるときに使います。また、ある出来事が人に影響を与えたとき、'happened to + 人' という形も使います。

### Examples
- どうしたんですか？何があったんですか？
  - English: Are you okay? What happened?
- その事故は月曜の朝に起きました。
  - English: The accident happened on Monday morning.
- 彼女に何か悪いことが起きたんじゃないかと心配しています。
  - English: I'm worried something bad happened to her.

## English equivalents
- happen
## Japanese equivalents
- 起こる
- 起きる
- 生じる
- 〜になる
## Common patterns
- **happen + to + person**: An event affects someone. Example: I hope nothing bad happens to them.
- **happen to + verb**: Do something by coincidence. Example: Do you happen to know her number?
- **What happened (to)?**: Ask about an event or its cause. Example: What happened to your arm?

## More from Anaversity
- [Japanese–English dictionary](https://anaversity.com/dictionary/japanese-english)
- [happen in the English dictionary](https://anaversity.com/dictionary/english/happen)
- [AI and agent access guide](https://anaversity.com/llms.txt)

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