Expressing Coincidence
To say that something happened by chance, accidentally, or that you "happened to" do something, Thai uses the auxiliary words เผอิญ or บังเอิญ. These two words are completely interchangeable.
Place either word directly in front of the verb you want to modify.
A chance encounter might make you feel like the world is very small. In Thai, the idiom for a "small world" uses the word for round (กลม)—literally, "the world is round."
Using บังเอิญ with Actions
Like เผอิญ, you can use บังเอิญ to describe sudden, unplanned actions, like accidentally making eye contact (สบตา).
Starting a Clause
Instead of placing เผอิญ or บังเอิญ right before a verb, you can place them at the very beginning of a sentence or clause. This sets the context for the entire statement, translating closer to "It just so happens that..." or "Coincidentally..."
Perfect Timing and Destiny
When a coincidence is highly improbable, it might feel like fate (ชะตา) or romantic destiny (พรหมลิขิต). You can describe these encounters as having timing that is perfectly coincidental or fitting (ประจวบเหมาะ).
Crossing Paths
You can also combine these auxiliary words with verbs like crossing paths (สวนทาง) to describe passing by someone completely unexpectedly.