acontecer vs passar
Portuguese word comparison
Listen to acontecer
Listen to passar
| acontecer | passar |
|---|---|
/a-con-te-CER/ verb | /[pa-ˈsaʁ]/ verb |
| to happen; to take place | to happen; to go on; to pass |
How they differ
Passar can sometimes mean 'to happen' in expressions like 'o que passou', but it is not a direct all-purpose synonym for acontecer. Compared with acontecer, passar is more context-dependent and often refers to an event as something that went on, happened to someone, or passed by, rather than simply taking place.
When to use each
When to use acontecer: Use acontecer when you want a direct verb meaning 'to happen' with no extra nuance.
When to use passar: Use passar in fixed expressions or when the context clearly means 'what happened' or 'what went on'.
Side-by-side examples
- Não sei o que aconteceu com ele.
(I don't know what happened to him.) - Não sei o que passou com ele.
(I don't know what happened to him.)
Register & nuance: Passar is common in speech in some fixed uses, but it is less precise than acontecer and depends more on context.