Spanish · Real conversations
How to say “Something has come up.” in Spanish
Explain that an unexpected matter has interrupted your plan.
Me surgió un imprevisto.
Something has come up.
The expression gives a brief reason without requiring private details.
Use it in three situations
A last-minute message
Me surgió un imprevisto.
Something has come up.
Explaining a cancellation
Surgió un imprevisto en el trabajo.
Something has come up at work.
Changing a social plan
Surgió un imprevisto, así que necesito cambiar nuestros planes.
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 Spanish: Something has come up at work.
Reveal a sample reply
Surgió un imprevisto en el trabajo.
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 Spanish
These guides use broadly understandable Latin American Spanish. Tú is familiar and usted is respectful or formal, with important regional variation. Me gustaría and ¿podría …? are useful for considerate requests.
Keep accent marks and opening question marks. Some regions choose different everyday words. Follow the complete example rather than substituting English words one by one, especially with pronouns and expressions of preference.
