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### Expressing Coincidence with "sattua"

When you want to say that you "happened to" do something, use the verb *sattua*. 

When *sattua* is followed by another verb, that second verb takes its **first infinitive** (the dictionary form). Conjugate *sattua* to match the subject of the sentence, while the second verb remains unchanged.

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### Chance and Coincidence

You can also express the idea of coincidence using words derived from the same root, such as the adverb *sattumalta* (by chance) and the noun *sattumus* (a coincidence).

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### Accidental Discoveries

Unexpected events often involve stumbling upon things while performing actions like *penkoa* (to rummage through) or unintentionally hearing something.

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### Old Acquaintances and Reunions

Coincidences frequently involve running into people from your past. Use the adjective *entinen* to refer to a "former" or "ex" person or thing, and *jälleennäkeminen* (literally "seeing again") for a reunion.

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### Casual Encounters and Reactions

Sometimes an action is quick or casual, such as *vilkaista* (to glance) or doing something *ohimennen* (in passing). 

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Sudden encounters or accidental remarks might cause someone to *häkeltyä* (to get flustered) or *lipsauttaa* (to let slip) a secret.

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Expressing coincidence (sattua)

adjective

adposition

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (tämä, tuo, se)

Singular personal pronouns (minä, sinä, hän)

Plural personal pronouns (me, te, he)

Plural demonstratives (nämä, nuo, ne)

Coordinating conjunctions (ja, mutta, tai)

Yes/no questions (-ko / -kö)

Basic question words (kuka, mikä, missä)

Negation of to be (en ole, ei ole)

The inessive case (-ssa / -ssä)

Double consonant gradation (kk, pp, tt)

Consonant gradation (-ssa/-ssä)

Verb Type 1 (puhun, puhut, puhuu)

Verb Type 1 with consonant gradation

Negative verbs (en puhu, et lue)

External location (-lla/-llä)

There is / there are (kaupungissa on)

Possession (minulla on)

Numbers 1 to 10 (yksi, kaksi, kolme)

The partitive singular (-a/-ä, -ta/-tä)

Quantities with numbers (kaksi autoa)

Negative possession (ei ole)

Numbers 11 to 100 and 1000

Partitive verbs

Partitive personal pronouns (minua, sinua)

Verb Type 2 (-da/-dä)

Partitive for mass nouns (-a/-ä, -ta/-tä)

Partitive for negative objects

Adjective agreement

Verb Type 3

The elative case (-sta/-stä)

Negative possession (minulla ei ole…)

The illative case (-Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Numbers 21 to 99

Static vs. movement verbs

Verb Type 4 (-Vta / -Vtä)

Verb Type 5 (-ita / -itä)

Genitive singular for possession (-n)

Total object (-n)

Accusative personal pronouns (-t)

Obligation (täytyy)

Into places (-Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Postpositions with the genitive

My and your (-ni, -si)

Onto and to someone (-lle)

From someone or somewhere (-lta, -ltä)

Telling time (kello on...)

Months of the year (-ssa, -ssä)

Days of the week (-na, -nä)

When and why (milloin, miksi)

The illative case (mihin, -Vn, -hVn, -seen)

Past tense of to be (olin, olit, oli)

The seasons (kevät, kesä, syksy, talvi)

The imperative mood (lue!, syö!, mene!)

The past tense of to be (olin, oli)

The illative case (-hVn, -seen)

Greetings and goodbyes (hei, näkemiin)

Thank you and sorry (kiitos, anteeksi)

Liking things (pitää / tykätä + -sta/-stä)

Temporary states and roles (-na/-nä)

Change of state (-ksi)

Ongoing actions (-massa/-mässä)

Going to do an action (-maan/-mään)

Returning from an action (-masta/-mästä)

Third-person possessives (-nsa/-nsä or -Vn)

Plural possessives (-mme, -nne)

Indefinite pronouns (joku, jokin, kaikki)

Negative indefinite pronouns (ei kukaan, ei mikään)

Commands for verb types 4 and 5

Adverb formation (-sti)

Past tense for verb type 1 (-i-)

Past tense vowel changes for verb type 1 (-o- / -i-)

Past tense for verb type 2 (-i-)

Past tense for verb type 3 (-i-)

Past tense for verb type 4 (-si-)

Past tense for verb type 5 (-itsi-)

Past tense consonant gradation

Past participles for verb types 1 and 2 (-nut / -nyt)

Past participle singular for verb types 3-5 (-nnut, -llut)

Active past participle plural (-neet)

Past tense negative (en mennyt, emme olleet)

The perfect tense (olen ollut)

The perfect tense negative (en ole nähnyt)

Total plural objects (-t)

Partitive plural (-ia / -iä)

Partitive plural (-ja / -jä)

Question	Answer
I happened to see him on the street.	Satuin näkemään hänet kadulla.
by chance	sattumalta
They met by chance.	He tapasivat sattumalta.
the coincidence	sattumus
This weird coincidence is likely to surprise the teacher.	Tämä outo sattumus taitaa yllättää opettajan.
It was a funny coincidence.	Se oli hauska sattumus.
I happened to overhear their conversation behind the door.	Satuin kuulemaan heidän keskusteluaan oven takana.
to eavesdrop	salakuunnella
Don't try to eavesdrop on my phone call!	Älä yritä salakuunnella minun puheluani!
We happened to find an old book in the attic.	Satuimme löytämään vanhan kirjan ullakolta.
to rummage through	penkoa
Who is rummaging through my backpack?	Kuka penkoo minun reppuani?
former	entinen
I happened to meet my former boss on the street.	Satuin tapaamaan entisen pomoni kadulla.
His ex-wife probably lives here.	Hänen entinen vaimonsa mahtaa asua täällä.
the reunion	jälleennäkeminen
The reunion was really emotional.	Jälleennäkeminen oli todella tunteikas.
The party was a wonderful reunion with friends.	Juhla oli ihana jälleennäkeminen ystävien kanssa.
to glance	vilkaista
I happened to glance out of the window.	Satuin vilkaisemaan ikkunasta ulos.
Can you glance at this email?	Voitko vilkaista tätä sähköpostia?
in passing	ohimennen
I heard in passing that they are getting a divorce.	Kuulin ohimennen, että he eroavat.
I happened to mention the matter to him quite in passing.	Satuin mainitsemaan asian hänelle aivan ohimennen.
to be flustered	häkeltyä
He probably got flustered by this encounter.	Hän taisi häkeltyä tästä kohtaamisesta.
Don't get flustered if I happened to read your message.	Älä häkelly, jos satuin lukemaan viestisi.
to let slip	lipsauttaa
I happened to let his secret slip.	Satuin lipsauttamaan hänen salaisuutensa.
The boy let an odd word slip in passing.	Poika lipsautti oudon sanan ohimennen.
I happened to eavesdrop on the boss.	Satuin salakuuntelemaan pomoa.
I found this by chance when I happened to rummage through the box.	Löysin tämän sattumalta, kun satuin penkomaan laatikkoa.