Once upon a time ... (phrase)
Once upon a time is a typical introductory phrase for fairy tales , legends and similar stories . It has been used for several centuries and has become a hallmark for this type of text . The counterpart to this is often the final phrase and if they have not died, then they are still alive today (or: and they lived happily to the end ).
This phrase became popular with the spread of the works of the Brothers Grimm and as a German translation of the Danish phrase in works by Hans Christian Andersen . It is used both in the written language and in the spoken language , but nowadays it is mostly perceived as archaic .
In other languages
The Once upon a corresponding phrase is also available in many other languages. Some of these are translations of works in other languages, others are original. Here some are listed and translated if necessary.
| language | Introductory phrase | translation | Closing phrase | translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Eendag, lank gelede ... | One day a long time ago | ||
| Alemannic | Äs isch emou… gsy using the example of Bern German | Once upon a time | U we are not gschtorbe sy, de labe si no hüt | And they all lived happily everafter |
| Algerian | Hajitek ma jitek | I told you what was coming | ||
| Arabic |
kāna yā mā kāna fī qadīmi z-zamān wa-sālifi l-ʿaṣri wa-lʾawāni كان يامكان ، في قديم الزمان ، وسالف العصر والأوان |
It was, oh, what was then (or was not) in the oldest days and years and times ... | ||
| Chinese | 很久 , 很久 以前 | A long long time ago | ||
| Danish | The var engang | There was once | Og de levede lykkeligt, til deres dages end | And they lived happily ever after until the end of their days |
| Ekoti ( Mozambique , Bantu ) | Rakú z'éepo waarí-vó oswááipu nwúlw'eéne saána | Some time ago there was a really great friendship | ||
| English | Once upon a time | Once, a time ago | And they all lived happily ever after | And they lived happily ever since that day |
| Finnish | Olipa kerran | Once upon a time there was | ||
| French | Il était une fois | There was once | et se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants | And they got married and had many children |
| Georgian | Iko da ara iko ra, iko | It was, it wasn't, it was | ||
| Goemai ( Nigeria ) | Tamtis noe lat / dok ba muaan yi wa | My story was over, came back and came home | ||
| Greek |
Mia forá ki énan keró Μια φορά κι έναν καιρό |
Once, in another time |
Ki ézisan afti kalá ki emis kalýtera Κι έζησαν αυτοί καλά κι εμείς καλύτερα |
And they lived well and we did better |
| Hebrew |
Hayo hayah pa'am היו היה פעם |
Once upon a time there was a time | ||
| Hindi |
किसी ज़माने में or बहुत पुरानी बात है |
In an era or it's an old story |
||
| Indonesian | Pada suatu hari | Someday | ||
| Iraqw ( Kenya , Kushitic ) |
tokaro-yâ Kar aníng te-'ée 'to-ká a inhláw ar aakó doo-rén ni alki'-ai tí: |
Once, a time ago, I remember something our father told me, it goes: |
aa fák a-n ti'itá-r akóo doo-rén na alki'íit |
It's over. This is the story our father told us |
| Italian | C'era una volta | There was once | e vissero tutti felici e contenti | and everyone lived happily ever after |
| Japanese |
Mukashi mukashi (昔 々 /昔 昔 ) or Ima wa mukashi (今 は 昔 ) |
A long, long time ago or a long time ago |
medetashi medetashi (め で た し め で た し ) | so happy so happy |
| Catalan |
Hi havia / això era una vegada Temps era temps |
It was a time time was time |
||
| Korean | Yet-nal Yet-jeok-e ( 옛날 옛적 에 ) | Once, a time ago | ||
| Croatian | Jednom davno ... | Once upon a time, a long time ago | i živjeli su sretno do kraja života | and they lived happily ever after |
| Latvian | Excite senos laikos | Once, a long time ago, in times long past | ||
| Luxembourgish | Et wor eemol, viru long time ... | Once upon a time, a long time ago ... | A wa se net gestuerwe sense, there liewe se also after skin | And if they haven't died, then they are still alive today |
| Dutch | He was eens | There was once | En ze leefden nog lang en gelukkig | And they lived a long and happy life |
| Norwegian | Det var en gang | There was once | Og så levde de lykkelig all sine dager | And then they lived happily ever after |
| Polish |
Był / Była / Było sobie raz or Dawno dawno temu |
He / She / It was once or a long long time ago |
I żyli długo i szczęśliwie | And they lived long and happily |
| Persian |
Yek-i bud, yek-i nabud
(یکی بود یکی نبود) |
One gave it one did not exist or there was one, it was not | ||
| Portuguese | Era uma vez | There was once | E viveram felizes para semper ... | And they lived happily ever after ... / And they lived happily ever after ... |
| Romanian | A fost odată, ca niciodata ... | Once upon a time, like never before | Si au trait fericiti pana la adanci batraneti ... | |
| Russian |
Schil byl / Zhil bwil ( Жил-был ) Schila byla / Zhila bwila ( жила-была ) Schili byli / Zhili bwili ( жили-были ) |
It lived and was (a man) It lived and was (a woman) It lived and was |
И жили они долго и счастливо | And they lived long and happily |
| Swedish | Det var en gång | There was once | Also så levde de lyckliga i alla sina dagar | And then they lived happily ever after in all their days |
| Slovak | Kde bolo, tam bolo | Where was there was | ||
| Slovenian | Nekoč pred davnimi časi | Once upon a time | ||
| Spanish | Érase / Había una vez | There was once |
Y vivieron felices y comieron perdices or Y colorín colorado, este cuento se ha acabado ... |
And they lived happily ever after and ate partridge or And colorin, colorado, this story has come to an end ... |
| Sanskrit |
Pūrākāle ( पुराकाले ) or Kadājit ( कदाचित् ) |
In the past or once, a time ago |
||
| Tagalog | Noong un panahon | In primeval times | ||
| Thai |
กาล ครั้ง หนึ่ง นาน มา แล้ว ( gaan kráng nèung naan maa láew ) |
Once upon a time |
แล้ว ทุก คน ก็ อยู่ ด้วย กัน อย่าง มี ความ สุข ตลอด ไป ( láew túk kon gôr yòo dûay gan yàang mee kwaam sùk dtà-lòt bpai ) |
And they lived happily ever after |
| Czech | Bylo nebylo | It was, it wasn't | ||
| Turkish |
Bir varmış bir yokmuş or Bir zamanlar… mış. or Evvel zaman içinde, kalbur saman içinde |
It was one, it wasn't, or Once upon a time or In the old days, sieve in straw |
Gökten üç elma düşmüş: biri…, biri…, biri… or … ve sonsuza kadar mutlu yaşamışlar |
Then three apples fell from heaven; one on ... [name of the narrator], one on ... [name of the listener] and one on ... [name of the fairy tale character] or ... and they lived happily ever after |
| Hungarian | Egyszer volt, get a volt, volt egyszer egy | Once there was when there wasn't, there was | Boldogan éltek, amíg meg nem haltak | They lived happily until they died |
Web links
Wiktionary: once upon a time - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Individual evidence
- ^ Sleeping Beauty on Project Gutenberg - DE