qué coincidencia
/ke koinθidenθja/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "what a coincidence" is expressed as qué coincidencia.
qué coincidencia is an exclamation used when two similar things happen at the same time by chance.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you may also hear ¡Qué coincidencia más extraña! to mean "What a strange coincidence!"
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, exclamatory phrases like this are typically enclosed between opening and closing exclamation marks (¡ !).
How do you pronounce it?
/ke koinθidenθja/
Did you know?
- Spanish has no single word that captures the specific English concept of 'serendipity', so phrases like qué coincidencia or hallazgo afortunado are used instead.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, a coincidence is sometimes attributed to será cosa del destino, meaning 'it must be a thing of destiny'.
- The verb 'coincidir', from which coincidencia is derived, literally means 'to fall together' in its root components.
Examples in context
- ¡Qué coincidencia! Mi corbata es igual a la tuya.What a coincidence! We're wearing the same tie.This example shows how to use qué coincidencia when noticing someone's tie is the same as yours.Tatoeba #3009807 by hayastan, translation #6394206 by npvojtik
- ¡Qué coincidencia!What a coincidence!This example shows a standalone use of qué coincidencia.Tatoeba #357547 by tatoerique, translation #18131 by CK
- ¡Qué coincidencia que nos veamos aquí!What a coincidence that we see each other here!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía bump into each other at a cafe.
- Alejandro¡Hola, Lucía! ¿Qué haces por aquí?Hi, Lucía! What are you doing around here?
- Lucía¡Hola, Alejandro! Justo iba a tomar un café.Hi, Alejandro! I was just going to have a coffee.
- Alejandro¡Qué coincidencia! Yo también quería un café.What a coincidence! I wanted a coffee too.
- Lucía¡Es verdad! Vamos juntos entonces.That's true! Let's go together then.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
