Let’s explore the common expressions and their uses in sentences for ‘What happened’ in Chinese.
发生了什么事？ (fāshēng le shénme shì?)
This phrase literally means “What happened?” and is commonly used to inquire about an event or situation.
e.g.
昨天晚上发生了什么事？ (Zuótiān wǎnshàng fāshēng le shénme shì?) What happened last night?
会议上发生了什么事？ (Huìyì shàng fāshēng le shénme shì?) What happened at the meeting?
你看起来很紧张，发生了什么事？ (Nǐ kàn qǐlái hěn jǐnzhāng, fāshēng le shénme shì?) You look very nervous, what happened?
怎么了？ (zěnme le?)
This phrase means “What’s wrong?” or “What happened?” and is used to ask about someone’s state or situation.
e.g.
你怎么了？为什么哭？ (Nǐ zěnme le? Wèishéme kū?) What happened to you? Why are you crying?
他怎么了？为什么没来上课？ (Tā zěnme le? Wèishéme méi lái shàngkè?) What happened to him? Why didn’t he come to class?
电话那头很吵，怎么了？ (Diànhuà nà tóu hěn chǎo, zěnme le?) It’s very noisy on the other end of the phone, what happened?
出什么事了？ (chū shénme shì le?)
This phrase means “What happened?” and is used to inquire about an incident or issue.
e.g.
家里出什么事了？ (Jiālǐ chū shénme shì le?) What happened at home?
公司出什么事了？怎么这么忙？ (Gōngsī chū shénme shì le? Zěnme zhème máng?) What happened at the company? Why is it so busy?
街上那么多人，出什么事了？ (Jiē shàng nàme duō rén, chū shénme shì le?) There are so many people on the street, what happened?
怎么回事？ (zěnme huí shì?)
This phrase means “What’s going on?” or “What happened?” and is often used to ask for an explanation.
e.g.
你们在吵什么？怎么回事？ (Nǐmen zài chǎo shénme? Zěnme huí shì?) What are you arguing about? What happened?
灯怎么灭了？怎么回事？ (Dēng zěnme miè le? Zěnme huí shì?) Why did the light go out? What happened?
这个文件怎么没保存？怎么回事？ (Zhège wénjiàn zěnme méi bǎocún? Zěnme huí shì?) Why wasn’t this document saved? What happened?
出了什么问题？ (chū le shénme wèntí?)
This phrase means “What went wrong?” or “What happened?” and is used to ask about a problem or issue.
e.g.
项目进度出了什么问题？ (Xiàngmù jìndù chū le shénme wèntí?) What went wrong with the project progress?
电脑出了什么问题？ (Diànnǎo chū le shénme wèntí?) What happened to the computer?
你的车出了什么问题？ (Nǐ de chē chū le shénme wèntí?) What happened to your car?
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