Che è successo
Che è successo is the Italian way to say "what happened".
A question used to ask about the cause or details of a past event or situation.
Which one should you use?
While Che è successo refers to a completed past event, Che succede is used to ask about a current situation or to say "What's going on?"
Did you know?
- If you want to ask 'what happened' in a more dramatic or informal way, you can say Che cavolo è successo?, which literally translates to 'What cabbage happened?'
- The word successo is a false friend for English speakers, as it can also mean 'success' in a business or personal sense. This means 'what happened' and 'what a success' both use the same root word.
- Depending on the region, an Italian might use Che è capitato? instead of Che è successo? The verb capitare implies that the event happened by chance or was a fluke.
Examples in context
- Hey, che è successo?Hey, what happened?Tatoeba #1403038 by Guybrush88, translation #25304 by CM
- Che è successo oggi?What happened today?Tatoeba #2599052 by Guybrush88, translation #2254556 by CK
- Che è successo laggiù?What happened down there?Tatoeba #3603820 by Guybrush88, translation #3129467 by CK
- Mi scusi, cosa è accaduto?Excuse me, what happened?
- 125 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Matteo finds Martina looking upset in the living room.
- MatteoSembri triste, che è successo?You seem sad, what happened?
- MartinaHo perso il mio portafoglio.I lost my wallet.
- MatteoDavvero? Dove l'hai visto l'ultima volta?Really? Where did you see it last?
- MartinaNon ricordo proprio, sono preoccupata.I really don't remember, I'm worried.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
