Published April 2, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
📘 Se passer meaning
Se passer is a reflexive French verb meaning “to happen,” “to take place,” or “to go (well or badly),” depending on context. It’s used to describe events and situations, often in the impersonal form il se passe… (something is happening). You’ll see it in questions like que se passe-t-il ? (what is happening?) and qu’est-ce qui se passe ? (what’s going on?), as well as with adverbs ça se passe bien (it’s going well) and ça se passe mal (it’s going poorly). 🔊 Hear real examples now.
🎧 Se passer pronunciation
The pronunciation of se passer is /sə pa.se/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “suh pah-say”.
📝 Se passer examples
Qu’est-ce qui se passe dehors ?
What’s happening outside?
Que se passe-t-il dehors ?
What is happening outside?
These first two examples ask the same question, but the second sentence uses the inversion form for asking questions.
👉 See also: How to ask questions in French »
Il se passe quelque chose dans la rue.
Something is happening in the street.
La réunion se passe bien.
The meeting is going well.
Today’s examples used dehors (outside, outdoors), a word that many of my students have found difficult to pronounce.
❓ Want to feel more confident in French?
🎯 À Moi Paris — This is my top recommendation for online French courses, and it pairs wonderfully with my daily lessons. Camille Chevalier teaches with engaging audio stories that she records at three speeds. Her specialty is helping students with pronunciation and bridging the gap between textbook French and real spoken French as you hear it on the streets of Paris.
👉 Explore À Moi Paris »
👉 Read my review »
🎧 French Verb Drills — Having trouble with French verb conjugations? Camille’s audio drills break everything down step by step so you can finally lock in the patterns and speak with confidence.
If you purchase the courses, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.
🔗 Related words and expressions
- se dérouler — to take place, to unfold
- arriver — to happen, to occur
- avoir lieu — to take place
- se produire — to occur, to happen (formal)
- bien se passer — to go well
- mal se passer — to go badly
👉 See also: French interjections (hub) »
📚 Related lessons
👉 Passer conjugation chart »
👉 French reflexive verbs »
🚀 Continue learning on FrenchLearner!
👉 French Word of the Day (200+ lessons) »
👉 French word meanings (common words explained clearly) »
👉 French vocabulary lists »
