When someone says, “what a coincidence“, they’re pointing out an unexpected situation or occurrence where two or more things happen at the same time by chance, not because there was a plan. It’s like saying “what a surprise” or “how unexpected”. We usually say this when we’re surprised by how certain events line up without any prior arrangement.
Here are two examples in sentences:
Example 1:
John and Lucy bumped into each other at the airport in a different country. John said, “what a coincidence” as they hadn’t planned to meet.
Example 2:
Emma found out that her new roommate was from the same hometown as hers, and she exclaimed, “what a coincidence“!
Here are examples in a conversation:
Example 3:
Harry: Guess what? I ran into Sarah at the coffee shop today.
Paul: Really? What a coincidence! I saw her there too.
Example 4:
Alice: I was just thinking about you, and then you called.
Bob: Wow, what a coincidence!
So when someone says “what a coincidence“, it means that they are surprised by the unexpected occurrence of two or more events at the same time by chance.
