Fancy Seeing You Here – Meaning & What to Reply

“Fancy seeing you here” is a fairly popular thing to say when meeting someone at an unexpected place. This article will look into the meaning of the word and how to use it. We’ll also share some great options to use as a reply.

What Does “Fancy Seeing You Here” Mean?

“Fancy seeing you here” means someone is surprised to see you in a certain place. It can be used happily to show someone is pleased to meet you. It might also be used sarcastically to show that they would rather not see you.

These examples will help you understand more about “fancy seeing you here” positively:

• Wow! Fancy seeing you here, Matt! It feels like it’s been such a long time since we were able to catch up.
• Fancy seeing you here! It’s been so long! What have you been up to lately?

You can use it this way to show you’re happy to see someone. It’s especially effective if it’s been long since you last saw them.

Here are a few examples to demonstrate a more negative tone:

• Fancy seeing you here, Rachel. I thought you said that these parties were no fun. Yet, here you are.
• Fancy seeing you at a place like this. You’ve always judged me for coming. I always knew you’d cave eventually.

This time, “fancy seeing you here” is more sarcastic. It shows that someone is going against their beliefs or that you’d rather not see them at the place.

Now that we’ve shown you what “fancy seeing you here” means, it’s time to go through some good responses. We’ve gathered the best options available to respond if you want to come up with some interesting or witty responses.

What to Reply to “Fancy Seeing You Here”

The best replies to “fancy seeing you here” are “yet here I am,” “but I am here,” and “fancy seeing you here!” These are great replies as they show that you are present, trying to disregard someone else’s shock or surprise.

1. Yet Here I Am

“Yet here I am” is a simple, witty response. It uses a dry tone to address your presence, even if the other party is surprised that you’re here.

“Yet” is the key to using this one correctly. It shows that you are indeed at the event, and nothing was going to prevent that from happening. Most people will be stunned by your confidence or directness, making this an excellent choice.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• Yet here I am. I know you didn’t want me to come, but I felt like I owed it to the rest of my friends.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• Yet here I am. I’m sorry. Has this made it difficult for you to enjoy the rest of the festivities?

2. But I Am Here

“But I am here” is a rewording of “yet here I am.” It’s a more formal response, allowing you to be a bit dry and blunt with the other person. It shows that “you are here” without trying to be too witty or interesting.

Witty responses work well with friends. However, responses like this are better if you’re speaking more formally with someone or introducing yourself to someone you’re not all that familiar with.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• But I am here. You might not have wanted this yourself, but I couldn’t resist coming to see my other friends off.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• But I am here. I know it’s not ideal for you, but you can’t change what’s happened. I just want to be included.

3. Fancy Seeing You Here!

“Fancy seeing you here!” is already a good response. You can reply with the same phrase as long as you stress “you” when you say it.

Putting stress on “you” shows that it shouldn’t be surprising that you are here. Instead, the true surprise comes from the other party being present. It shows that you were more surprised to see them than they were to see you.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• No! Fancy seeing you here! I can’t believe you decided to come to this! I’m really happy to see you.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• Fancy seeing you here! It’s not often that I get a chance to meet with one of my old enemies.

4. I Was Not Expecting to See You

“I was not expecting to see you” is a great response in this situation. It shows that you didn’t expect to see someone without using “fancy” in the phrase. “Not expecting” is used to show you were caught off guard by their presence.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• I was not expecting to see you. It’s not every day that I get to catch up with an old Tinder flame.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• I was not expecting to see you at all. You must update me on all the amazing things that have happened.

5. I Know! Small World!

“I know! Small world!” is a great response showing that it’s weird that you’re seeing someone you didn’t expect to see. “Small world” is a common English idiom showing that it’s difficult to get away from people you know because everyone is interconnected.

“Small world” comes from the idea that everyone knows everyone. It suggests that you don’t have to go far to find a friend of a friend who connects you with someone you might say “fancy seeing you here!” to.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• I know! Small world! It’s almost like we live in the same town and have the same friends! I can’t imagine getting invited to this party.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• I know! Small world, right? It’s crazy that we run into each other as often as this.

6. Well, I Was Invited

“Well, I was invited” is a jokey and dry response showing you received an invitation to an event. You can use this positively or negatively, though the dry humour approach works better here (thus making it a more positive phrase).

• Fancy seeing you here!
• Well, I was invited. It would have been quite rude if I had decided to reject the invitation, after all.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• Well, I was invited. My mother is hosting the event, so it only made sense for me to come along and have some fun.

7. It is My Event

“It is my event” is another dry response you can use. It shows that you are hosting the event, so the other person shouldn’t be surprised to see you.

This reply works best when someone is being a bit dense. If they didn’t realize you were hosting the event, you could use this phrase to show them that their “fancy seeing you here” comment made no sense.

It’s a great choice for a more witty response that mocks the other person.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• It is my event, after all. If anything, I should say that it’s weird to see you here right now!

• Fancy seeing you here.
• Well, it is my event. I’m not sure why you didn’t expect me to be here. I like parties.

8. Who Invited You?

“Who invited you?” is a very abrupt (and rude) response that shows that you don’t want someone else to be at an event. While they might be surprised to see you, this phrase is a great reply if you can’t stand the sight of them.

It can be quite harsh. You should only use it when you really don’t like the person you’re speaking to.

There is one exception where you could use it more cheerfully. It’s possible to use this phrase as a joke to your friends to show that you can’t believe they were invited.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• Who invited you? I wasn’t ready to see your face today! I guess I’ll make do with it, though.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• Wait, who invited you here? I’m not surprised at my own presence, but I didn’t think the devil was allowed to come!

9. Do I Know You?

“Do I know you?” is a decent question alternative you can use. It shows that you don’t know the person speaking with you and don’t believe they should be saying things like “fancy seeing you here.”

It’s a difficult response to find the right context for. After all, it only works if you don’t know the other person that well.

You may use it when you are familiar with the person. When you know the other party, “do I know you?” takes on a different meaning. This time, it means you know the person, but you don’t want to give their “fancy seeing you here” comment a decent response.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• Do I know you? You’re talking to me as if we have history, but I’m definitely not looking at a good friend.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• Do I know you? I’m not sure we should be talking in this way. It doesn’t feel right.

10. I Was About to Say the Same Thing!

“I was about to say the same thing!” shows you are just as surprised to see someone at an event. It’s used positively to show that you can’t believe your eyes.

You should use this when the other party is pleasantly surprised to see you. It suggests that you both get along and can’t believe you’re in each other’s company without realizing you’d attend the same event.

• Fancy seeing you here!
• I was about to say the same thing! I can’t believe you’re at this party! It must have been three years since I saw you last.

• Fancy seeing you here.
• I was about to say the same thing! How have you been? I’ve missed you so much.

Origin of “Fancy Seeing You Here”

“Fancy seeing you here” comes from the 1930s and 1940s. It is a colloquial term used to greet someone you did not expect to meet.

“Fancy” originally means “imagine,” so the phrase is synonymous with “imagine seeing you here.” It attests to the unexpected nature of the meeting, whether that’s positive or negative for the context.