# Swedish: as it happens



## Eat

How do I express "as it happens" as in "I visited a restaurant the other day and, as it happens, there were people from broadcasting company who interview people who eat there."? I can only come up with "oväntat" but is there a better word?

My attempt is "När jag besökte restaurangen en dag så fanns det människor från televisionbolag som hade som uppdrag att intervjua människor som äter där."


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## x_karin

"The other day" can be translated "häromdagen". "Oväntat" is not really "as it happens". I this context, it is difficult to do a translation of it, the closest I can think of is "så råkade det sig" or "så kom det sig", but it sounds a bit strange. Could be used depending on the context of your sentence.

"restaurangen" = "the restaurant" (a specific one), in your sentence you should use "en restaurang" i stället = "a restaurant".

 My suggestion for your sentence:

"När jag besökte en restaurang häromdagen, så fanns det folk från ett tv-bolag där som hade i uppdrag att intervjua gästerna som var där och åt."
or
"När jag besökte en restaurang häromdagen, så kom det sig att det fanns folk från ett tv-bolag där som hade i uppdrag att intervjua gästerna som var där och åt."


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## BlueSuede

"...så kom det sig att..." or "...så hampade det sig att..." Are there more people than I who use this expression?


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## x_karin

BlueSuede said:


> "...så kom det sig att..." or "...så hampade det sig att..." Are there more people than I who use this expression?



"hampade"? Never heard of...


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## Ben Jamin

Eat said:


> How do I express "as it happens" as in "I visited a restaurant the other day and, as it happens, there were people from broadcasting company who interview people who eat there."? I can only come up with "oväntat" but is there a better word?
> 
> My attempt is "När jag besökte restaurangen en dag så fanns det människor från televisionbolag som hade som uppdrag att intervjua människor som äter där."



What do you want to say by using "as it happens" here?


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## bicontinental

x_karin said:


> I this context, it is difficult to do a translation of it, the closest I can think of is "så råkade det sig" or "så kom det sig", but it sounds a bit strange. Could be used depending on the context of your sentence.



  How about ‘[bara] tillfälligtvis’? ('As it happens' means '[just] by chance, by coincidence' in this context)


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## x_karin

bicontinental said:


> How about ‘[bara] tillfälligtvis’? ('As it happens' means '[just] by chance, by coincidence' in this context)



That works well, not really a word often used in spoken language, but it's actually a good translation for this sentence:

"När jag besökte en restaurang häromdagen, så fanns det tillfälligtvis folk från ett tv-bolag där som hade i uppdrag att intervjua gästerna som var där och åt."


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## AutumnOwl

Maybe "så slumpade det sig"?


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## utmarker

Or "så råkade det finnas" or så föll det sig så att". Quite a number of alternatives, and "hampade det sig" do exist but maybe you are jesting a fraction when you use it.


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## BlueSuede

About "hampa sig" (as a synonym to 'as it happens' and therefore within the topic of this thread): 
I did some googling about this word, and found numerous example of its usage, more than even I expected. I think even the great Povel Ramel used it in one of his works. Many phrases from the older days are used in a humorous way nowadays, and even by young people in an ironic way. But I wouldn't use it in writing about serious matters.
Sometimes I use it in a ironic sense that something bad happened when it was totally foreseeable: "Nämen, så det kan hampa sig!" and then it's time to laugh about it. Like falling in the swimmingpool fully dressed while drunk.


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## JohanIII

My understanding of _tillfälligtvis_ is very close to _ibland_, though shorter in duration and/or interval, and often referring to a single event.
_Logotypen visades tillfälligtvis under sändningen._

Also,  as the example above describes, you watched a longer section of the  airing (were in the restaurant for a while), and saw the logo (saw the  interviewing team) come and go.
So I would not use it if I tuned in  to the airing, saw the logo, and tuned out again (or if the interviewing  team was there the whole time I was there).

I find it is much easier to translate correct English, but specifically using _as it happened_, made it easier to ponder (psychology, there you go ).


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## Wilma_Sweden

'Händelsevis' might be used as an equivalent of 'as it happens': 
Jag besökte en restaurang häromdagen, och händelsevis fanns det folk från ett TV-bolag där som intervjuade de ätande.


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## hanne

JohanIII said:


> My understanding of _tillfälligtvis_ is very close to _ibland_, though shorter in duration and/or interval, and often referring to a single event.


"Tilfældigvis" is a false friend. In Danish it would have be a good translation - by coincidence - as bicont. says. But "tilfælde" doesn't mean quite the same thing in Danish and Swedish.


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