to happen / circumvent / be bloodshot
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to happen
To happen unnoticed as an error or oversight. This form is always used impersonally with the dative (jemandem unterläuft etwas — something happens to someone by mistake).
Mir ist beim Kopieren der Daten ein Fehler unterlaufen.
An error happened to me while copying the data.
to circumvent
To deliberately get around or undermine a rule, law, or system without directly breaking it.
Er versuchte, die strengen Sicherheitsvorschriften zu unterlaufen.
He tried to circumvent the strict safety regulations.
to be bloodshot
To fill with blood and become discolored, usually as the result of an injury.
Sein Auge war nach dem Sturz blau unterlaufen.
His eye was blue and bloodshot after the fall.
'Unterlaufen' is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'unter-' remains firmly attached to the verb 'laufen' in all tenses and sentence types and is never placed at the end of the sentence.
Dem Team ist ein schwerwiegender Fehler unterlaufen.
A serious error happened to the team.
When an error happens unnoticed, an impersonal construction with the dative is used. The person to whom the mistake happens is in the dative, and the auxiliary verb is 'sein' (to be).
Mir ist bei der Berechnung ein Fehler unterlaufen.
An error happened to me during the calculation.
In the meaning 'etwas umgehen' (to get around something), 'unterlaufen' (to circumvent) requires a direct object in the accusative. The subject is the person acting actively, and the auxiliary verb in the perfect tense is 'haben' (to have).
Die Firma hat gezielt das neue Gesetz unterlaufen.
The company deliberately circumvented the new law.
In the medical meaning, 'unterlaufen' is almost always used as the past participle in combination with 'sein' (to be) and describes a state. It then functions like an adjective.
Ihre Lippe war nach dem Sturz geschwollen und blau unterlaufen.
Her lip was swollen and blue-black after the fall.
to happen / pass
Passieren and unterlaufen can both describe an unintentional mistake occurring. Unterlaufen usually assigns the mistake to a person in the dative and sounds somewhat more formal; passieren remains more general. For a personal apology, passieren is therefore often a good fit, while unterlaufen suits a more formal description.
Mir ist bei der Rechnung ein kleiner Fehler unterlaufen.
I made a small mistake on the bill.
Mir ist bei der Rechnung ein kleiner Fehler passiert.
I made a small mistake on the bill.
