o que aconteceu?
o que aconteceu? is the Portuguese way to say 'what happened?'
o que aconteceu? is a straightforward phrase used to ask for an explanation of an event or a situation.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of o que (what) and aconteceu (happened).
Which one should you use?
While o que aconteceu? asks about a specific event, o que está acontecendo? is used to ask 'what is happening?' (present continuous).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Portugal, que se passou? is commonly used in formal situations or among older generations.
Did you know?
- While o que aconteceu? is standard, Brazilians might use the slang que rolou? to ask 'what happened?' or 'what went down?'
- The 'o' in o que is actually a remnant of the Latin pronoun 'illum', which became a 'neutral' article in Portuguese.
- In certain Portuguese-speaking regions, you might hear O que é que aconteceu? which adds an extra 'que' for rhythmic emphasis.
Examples in context
- O que aconteceu ontem?What happened yesterday?
- Qual foi o ocorrido durante a reunião?What happened during the meeting?
- O que rolou na festa?What happened at the party?
- O que foi que aconteceu para você chegar tão tarde?What happened for you to arrive so late?
- Você viu o acidente? O que aconteceu?Did you see the accident? What happened?
Example conversation
Gabriel and Mariana are in the living room after hearing a loud noise from the kitchen.
- GabrielMariana, você ouviu isso? O que aconteceu?Mariana, did you hear that? What happened?
- MarianaEu não sei, Gabriel. Parecia algo caindo.I don't know, Gabriel. It sounded like something falling.
- GabrielVou lá ver o que aconteceu.I'll go see what happened.
- MarianaTome cuidado, por favor.Be careful, please.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries o, que, CC BY-SA 4.0.
