serendipia
/seɾenˈdipja/feminine
Serendipity in Spanish is serendipia. Wiktionary also lists serendipidad.
Meaning: unsought, unintended… and/or learning experience that happens by accident (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| serendipia | /seɾenˈdipja/ | feminine |
| serendipidad | /seɾendipidad/ (from spelling rules) | feminine |
The term refers to an unsought, unintended… and/or learning experience that happens by accident.
Which one should you use?
serendipia is the more common and widely accepted form in modern Spanish compared to serendipidad.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Argentina, the word carambola is used metaphorically to describe serendipitous events.
How does it change in a sentence?
Both serendipia and serendipidad are feminine nouns. The noun is feminine, so it is used with the feminine article la, as in la serendipia.
How do you pronounce it?
/seɾenˈdipja/
Did you know?
- The term serendipia travelled through four different languages, starting from Sanskrit and moving through Persian, Arabic and English before entering Spanish.
- While serendipia is a direct loanword from English, you might hear an Argentinian refer to a lucky accident as a carambola. This term originally refers to the collision of billiard balls.
Examples in context
- La serendipia es la facultad de hacer, accidentalmente, descubrimientos felices e inesperados.Serendipity is the ability to make, accidentally, happy and unexpected discoveries.This sentence explains the definition of serendipia as the ability to make, accidentally, happy and unexpected discoveries.Tatoeba #9949544 by hayastan, translation #9949547 by DJ_Saidez
- Fue una coincidencia afortunada encontrar este tesoro escondidoIt was a fortunate coincidence to find this hidden treasure
- El hallazgo casual de aquel libro cambió mi vidaThe casual finding of that book changed my life
- Fue una casualidad increíble encontrarme con mi antiguo amigo en esta ciudadIt was an incredible coincidence to bump into my old friend in this city
- Fue un golpe de suerte que me ofrecieran ese trabajo cuando lo necesitaba tantoIt was a stroke of luck that they offered me that job when I needed it so much
- Encontré el regalo de cumpleaños perfecto por casualidad.I found the perfect birthday gift by chance.
- Por pura casualidad, nuestros caminos se cruzaron nuevamente después de todos estos años.By sheer coincidence, our paths crossed again after all these years.
- Encontré este libro por pura serendipia.I found this book through pure serendipity.
- Nuestra amistad fue fruto de la serendipia.Our friendship was the result of serendipity.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are talking about how they met at a café.
- Lucía¿Cómo conociste a tu mejor amigo?How did you meet your best friend?
- MateoFue una serendipia total en la biblioteca.It was total serendipity in the library.
- LucíaQué suerte que ocurrió así.How lucky that it happened that way.
- MateoSí, Lucía, fue un momento increíble.Yes, Lucía, it was an incredible moment.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “serendipity” translations and entries serendipia, serendipidad, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries serendipia, serendipidad, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
