was geschah

what happened

→ was
phrase Uncommon #16,855
what happened A past-tense phrasing that can sound more formal or literary than “was ist passiert.”
GE: Was geschah mit dem alten Schlüssel?
EN: What happened to the old key?

Was geschah nach eurem Gespräch?

What happened after your conversation?

— Wilde Erdbeeren (1957)

Die meisten von ihnen haben keine Ahnung was geschah mit ihren Familien?

Most of them have no idea what happened to their families.

— Greenland 2 (2026)

Jetzt wissen wir, was geschah.

Now we know what happened.

Was geschah am nächsten Tag?

What happened the next day?

Was geschah ihm?

What happened to him?

Was geschah dann?

What happened next?

Was geschah mit deinem Vater?

What happened to your father?

— Feld der Träume (1989)

Ich werde niemals erklären können, was geschah.

I will never be able to explain what happened.

Nie hätte ich erraten, was geschah, als wir näher kamen.

I would never have guessed what happened as we got closer.

Tom tat so, als wüsste er, was geschah.

Tom pretended he knew what was happening.

Was geschah gestern tatsächlich?

What actually happened yesterday?

Doch was geschah?

But what happened?

— Die Taschendiebin (2016)

Was geschah danach?

What happened next?

Und was geschah dann?

And what happened then?

Was geschah mit deinem Hund?

What happened to your dog?

Es tut mir leid, was geschah.

I am sorry for what happened.

— Öffne die Augen (1997)

Was geschah davor?

What happened before?