German · Real conversations
How to say “Something has come up.” in German
Explain that an unexpected matter has interrupted your plan.
Mir ist etwas dazwischengekommen.
Something has come up.
The expression gives a brief reason without requiring private details.
Use it in three situations
A last-minute message
Mir ist etwas dazwischengekommen.
Something has come up.
Explaining a cancellation
Bei der Arbeit ist etwas dazwischengekommen.
Something has come up at work.
Changing a social plan
Mir ist etwas dazwischengekommen, deshalb muss ich unsere Pläne ändern.
Something has come up, so I need to change our plans.
What to watch for
Use an expression for an unexpected event rather than translating physical upward movement.
Read the whole expression before replacing a detail. The natural wording may use a different order or construction from the English sentence.
Your turn
Imagine changing plans. Say this in German: Something has come up at work.
Reveal a sample reply
Bei der Arbeit ist etwas dazwischengekommen.
Something has come up at work.
Build a useful exchange
Explain a change and offer a clear next step.
This expression in other languages
A note on speaking German
Use Sie for formal address and du with people you address informally. Könnten Sie …? is a useful polite request. Keep noun capitals and the verb position shown in each complete sentence.
The examples preserve German accents and ß. Read a full sentence before replacing a detail: a subordinate clause can move the verb to the end, and case can change an article or pronoun.
