Spanish word

ocurrir

Pronunciation

IPA/okuˈriɾ/

Meaning

  • verbhappen

Example

¿Qué ocurrió anoche?

What happened last night?

Illustration for ocurrir (happen)

More examples

Los problemas suelen ocurrir cuando menos los esperas.

Problems tend to happen when you least expect them.

Core concept

A fact or incident taking place on its own.

Common phrases

  • suele ocurrir

    tend to happen

  • ocurrir de repente

    happen suddenly

Similar words

pasar: An event or situation happens in ordinary, everyday conversation.
suceder: An event takes place, expressed in a neutral, factual way.
acontecer: An event occurs, typically used in written or news contexts.
surgir: A new matter or problem arises or appears naturally.

Definition in Spanish

Suceder o pasar un hecho o evento sin que exista un agente concreto que lo cause.

Word origin

From Latin occurrĕre (ob- 'toward' + currere 'run'), originally 'meet', later used in Romance languages to mean 'happen' or 'take place'.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, plain ocurrir reports events happening on their own, while ocurrirse (me ocurrió) is the common way to say that something came to someone's mind.

Other meanings

  • take placeverb
  • ariseverb

Related words

  • ocurridooccurredadjective

Word lists with this word