Once upon a time
Frontispiece to The How and Why Library, 1909
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) in storytelling in the English language and has opened many oral narratives since 1600. These stories often then end with "and they all lived happily ever after", or, originally, "happily until their deaths".
The phrase is particularly common in fairy tales for younger children, where it is almost always the opening line of a tale. It was commonly used in the original translations of the stories of Charles Perrault as a translation for the French "il était une fois", of Hans Christian Andersen as a translation for the Danish "der var engang", (literally "there was once"), the Brothers Grimm as a translation for the German "es war einmal" (literally "it was once") and Joseph Jacobs in English translations and fairy tales.
The phrase is also frequently used in such oral stories as retellings of myths, fables, folklore and children's literature.[1]
Other languages
The "story-starting phrase" is a common feature of many languages.
| Language | Common beginning | Common beginning (English translation) | Common ending | Common ending (English translation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albanian | Na ishte një herë... | Once there was... | Dhe ata jetuanumtur pergjithmonë | And they lived happy forever |
| Afrikaans | Eendag, lank gelede... | One day, a long time ago... | Fluit, fluit, die storie is uit | Whistle, whistle, the story is done |
| Algerian Arabic | Hajitek ma jitek (حجيتك ما جيتك) | I've told you what's coming | Unknown | Unknown |
| Amharic | በድሮ ዘመን... | Once a long time ago... | ተረቴን መልሱ አፌን በዳቦ አብሱ:: | Return my story and feed me bread.(It is a way of saying tell me a story for the one I have told you.) |
| Classical Arabic | kân yâ mâ kân fî qadîmi zzamân wsalifî al`aSri wal'awân... (كان يا ما كان،في قديم الزمان، وسالف العصر والأوان) |
There was, oh what there was (or there wasn't) in the oldest of days and ages and times... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Assamese | বহুত দিনৰ আগত... (Bahut dinor aagot...) | Long time ago... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Armenian | Լինում է, չի լինում... (Linum e, chi linum) | There was, there was not... | Երկնքից երեք խնձոր է ընկնում՝ Մեկը գրողին, մեկը պատմողին, մեկն էլ լսողին: (Yerknkits yereq khndzor e ynknum` Meky groxin, meky patmoxin, mekn el lsoxin) | 3 apples fall from the sky/heaven - one for the writer/author, one for the storyteller, one for the listener Note: (the three apples can "be given" to different people, when people tell stories they change the three to whatever they like. The version noted here is the most common/known) |
| Azeri | Biri var idi, biri yox idi... | There was, (and) there was not... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Basque | Bazen behin... | Once upon a time... | ...eta hala bazan ala ez bazan, sar dadila kalabazan eta atera dadila ...-ko plazan | ... and it was or it was not, come in in the pumpkin and come out in the square of... (name of a town). |
| Bengali | ek je chhilo raja... | Once there lived a king | aamaar kothati furolo; Note gaachhti murolo | My story ends and the spinach is eaten by the goat. (cf A Goat eats the root of a herb unlike cows, so being consumed by goats figuratively means something being irreversibly ended.) |
| Ek deshe chhilo... | In some country, there was... | |||
| Breton | Ur wech e oa... | Once upon a time... | ...hag e vevjont eürus asambles hag o devoe kalz a vugale. | ...and they lived happily and had many children. |
| Bulgarian | Имало едно време... (Imalo edno vreme...) |
There was, once upon a time... | ...и заживели щастливо до края на дните си (...i zazhiveli shtastlivo do kraya na dnite si) | ...and they lived happily until the end of their days |
| ...и три дни яли, пили и се веселили (...i tri dni yali, pili i se veselili) | ...and for three days they ate, drank and had fun. | |||
| Catalan | Hi havia una vegada | There was a time... | Vet aquí un gat, vet aquí un gos, aquest conte ja s'ha fos. I vet aquí un gos, vet aquí un gat, aquest conte s'ha acabat. | Here's a cat, here's a dog, this tale is already melted. And here's a dog, here's a cat, this tale is finished. |
| Temps era temps... | Time was time... | I conte contat, conte acabat | Tale told, tale finished | |
| Chinese | T: 很久很久以前 S: 很久很久以前 P: Hěnjiǔ hěnjiǔ yǐqián | A very very long time ago... | T: 從此，他們過著幸福快樂的日子 S: 从此，他们过着幸福快乐的日子 P: Cóngcǐ, tāmenguòzhe xìngfú kuàilè de rìzi | ... and they lived a happy life |
| Croatian | Bio jednom jedan... | There was once a... | ...i živjeli su sretno do kraja života. | ...and they lived happily until the end of their lives. |
| Czech | Bylo nebylo, ... | There was, there was not... | ... a žili šťastně až do smrti. | ...and they lived happily until they died. |
| Byl jednou jeden... | There was once a ... | ...a jestli neumřeli, žijí tam dodnes. | ...and if they have not died yet, they still live there today. | |
| Za sedmero horami a sedmero řekami... | Beyond seven mountain ranges, beyond seven rivers . . . | Zazvonil zvonec a pohádky je konec. | A bell rang and the tale comes to its end. | |
| Danish | Der var engang... | There was, once... | Og de levede lykkeligt til deres dages ende. | And they lived happily until the end of their days. |
| Engang for længe siden... | Once a long time ago... | Og hvis de ikke er døde, lever de endnu. | And if they're not dead, they are still alive. | |
| Dutch | Er was eens... | Once there was... | ... en ze leefden nog lang en gelukkig. | ...and they lived long and happily. |
| En toen kwam er een varken met een lange snuit en die blies het verhaaltje uit. | And then came a pig with a long snout, and the story is out (over). | |||
| Esperanto | Iam estis... | Once there was | Unknown | Unknown |
| Estonian | Elasid kord... | There once lived a... | ... ja nad elasid õnnelikult elu lõpuni. | ...and they lived happily until the end of their lives. |
| Seitsme maa ja mere taga elas kord... | Behind seven lands and seas there lived a... | ...ja kui nad surnud ei ole, siis elavad nad õnnelikult edasi | ...and if they're not dead, they still live happily. | |
| Faroese | Einaferð var tað... | Once there was... | Og tey livdu lukkuliga allar teirra dagar. | and they lived happily all their days. |
| snip, snap, snúti, so var søgan úti. | snip, snap, stout, then the story was out. | |||
| Filipino | Noong unang panahon... | At the beginning of time... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Finnish | Olipa kerran... | Once there was... | Ja he elivät onnellisina elämänsä loppuun saakka. | And they lived happily until the ends of their lives. |
| Sen pituinen se. | That's the length of it. | |||
| French | Il était une fois | There was one time / There was once... | ...et ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants | ...and they lived happily and had many children. |
| ...et ils vécurent heureux jusqu'à la fin des temps | ...and they lived happily until the end of time. | |||
| German | Es war einmal... | Once there was... | ...und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, dann leben sie noch heute. | ...and if they haven't died, they are still living today. |
| In den alten Zeiten, als das Wünschen noch geholfen hat | Back in the days when it was still of help to wish for a thing,... | ...und sie lebten glücklich und zufrieden bis ans Ende ihrer Tage. | ...and they lived happily and contentedly until the end of their days. | |
| Georgian | იყო და არა იყო რა, იყო... (iko da ara iko ra, iko...) |
There was, and there was not, there was... | ჭირი – იქა, ლხინი – აქა, ქატო – იქა, ფქვილი – აქა (Čiri – ik′a, lxini – ak′a, k′at′o – ik′a, p′k′vili – ak′a) |
Disaster there, feast here... bran there, flour here... |
| Goemai (Nigeria, West Chadic) | Unknown | Unknown | Tamtis noe lat / dok ba muaan yi wa | My tale has finished, (it) has returned to go (and) come home. |
| Greek (Modern) | Μια φορά κι έναν καιρό... (Mia fora ki enan kairo...) |
Once and a time... (time = epoch/era/age) | ...και ζήσανε αυτοί καλά και εμείς καλύτερα. (...kai zīsane autoi kala kai emeis kalytera) | And they lived well, and we lived better |
| Gujarati | ઘણાં વર્ષો પહેલાંની વાત છે (Ghaṇã vaṣô pahelãnī vāta che) |
This is an old story. | Unknown | Unknown |
| એક જમાનામાં... (Eka jamānāmã...) | In one era, ... | Unknown | Unknown | |
| વર્ષો પહેલાં... (Vaṣô pahelã...) | A long back | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Hebrew | הָיֹה הָיָה פעם (Hayoh hayah pa'am...) | Once there was... | והם חיו באושר ועושר עד עצם היום הזה (Ve'hem ẖayu be'osher va'osher ad etzem hayom hazeh) | And they lived in happiness and luxury to this very day. |
| הָיֹה הָיוּ פעם (Hayo hayu pa'am...) | Once there were... | |||
| Hindi | किसी ज़माने में (Kisī zamāne meṃ) | In one era, ... | Unknown | Unknown |
| बहुत पुरानी बात है (Bahuta purānī bāta hai) |
It's an old story, ... | |||
| Hungarian | Egyszer volt, hol nem volt, volt egyszer egy... | Once there was, where there wasn't, there was a... | Itt a vége, fuss el véle! | This is the end; run away with it. |
| Boldogan éltek, amíg meg nem haltak. | They lived happily until they died. | |||
| Icelandic | Einu sinni fyrir langa löngu... | Once a long time ago. | Og þau lifðu hamingjusöm til æviloka | And the lived happy for the rest of their lives. |
| Einu sinni var... | Once there was... | Köttur úti í mýri, setti upp á sér stýrið og úti er ævintýrið | A cat in the bog put up his tail and there ends the fairytale. | |
| Köttur úti í mýri, setti upp á sér stýri, úti er ævintýri | Cat out in the swamp, lifted its tail, the adventure is finished. | |||
| Indonesian | Pada zaman dahulu kala... | A long time ago... | Dan mereka hidup bahagia selama-lamanya. | And they lived happily ever after. |
| Iraqw (Tanzania, Kenya, Cushitic) | tokaro-yâ | Once upon a time | Unknown | Unknown |
| In oral literature: Kar aníng te-'ée' to-ká a inhláw ar aakó doo-rén ni alki'-a i tí | I remember something that our father told me and that is this: | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Irish | Fadó, fadó, fadó a bhí ann (agus bhí rí i nGaillimh) | A long, long, long time ago it was (and there was a king in Galway) | Unknown | Unknown |
| Italian | C'era una volta... | There was once... | E vissero felici e contenti. | And they lived happy and content. |
| Japanese | 昔昔 (昔々, むかしむかし, Mukashi mukashi) | Long ago, long ago... | めでたしめでたし (Medetashi medetashi) |
So blissful |
| Korean | 옛날 옛적에... (Yet-nal Yet-jeok-e...) |
On an old day, in the old times, | 그리고 행복하게 살았답니다 (Geurigo haeng-bok ha-gae sal-at damnida) |
And they lived happily after then. |
| Kannada | Ondanondu kaaladalli... | Once, in a long past age,... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Koti (Mozambique, Bantu) | Rakú z'éepo waarí-vó oswááipu nwúlw'eéne saána | Once upon the time, there was a truly great friendship... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Kyrgyz | илгери-илгери... (ilgeri-ilgeri...) | A long, long time ago... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Latin | Olim... | At that time, Once | Unknown | Unknown |
| Latvian | Reiz sen senos laikos... | Once long ago in times long gone | Unknown | Unknown |
| Lithuanian | Vieną kartą... | Once upon the time | Ir aš ten buvau, alų midų gėriau, per barzdą varvėjo, burnoj neturėjau | And I was there, drank some mead ale, dribbled through my beard, had not in my mouth |
| Luxembourgish | Et war eemol... (old orthography: Et wor eemol...) |
Once there was... | An wann se net gestuerwen sin, dann liewen se nach haut | ...and if they haven't died yet, they are still living today. |
| Macedonia | Си беше еднаш... (Si beshe ednash...) |
Once upon the time there was... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Malayalam | Pandu oridathu... | Long ago, at a place... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Malay | Pada zaman dahulu... | Once upon a time | Unknown | Unknown |
| Marathi | कोणे एके काळी... (kone eke kaali...) |
in a very old time... | आणि ते सुखाने राहू लागले (aani te sukhane raahu laagle) | and they lived happily ever after |
| Maragoli | Mmadikhu ga khaare | In olden days | Unknown | Unknown |
| Maltese | Darba, fost l-oħrajn... | Once upon a time... | U għexu henjin u kuntenti għal dejjem | And they lived happily and contentedly ever after. |
| Moroccan Arabic | حجيتك ما جيتك (Hajitek ma jitek) | I've told you what's coming | Unknown | Unknown |
| Nepali language | एका देशमा (eka desh ma) | Once in a country... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Norwegian | Det var en gang... | There was, once... | Og så levde de lykkelige alle sine dager | And then they lived happily for the remainder of their days. |
| Og er de ikke døde, så lever de ennå. | And if they're not dead, they still live. | |||
| Snipp, snapp, snute, så er eventyret ute. | Snip, snap, snute (snout), then this adventure is finished. | |||
| Occitan | Un còp èra... | There was one time / There was once... | ||
| Persian | روزی روزگاری (Ruzi, Ruzegaari) | One day, One time | به پایان آمد این دفتر حکایت همچنان باقیست
(be payan amad in daftar, hekayat hamchenan baaghist) |
This book has come to end but there is still story to be told |
| یکی بود، یکی نبود، غیراز خدا هیچکس نبود (yeki bud, yeki nabud, gheyr az khoda hich kas nabud) |
There was one, there wasn't one, there was no one beside the Lord. | قصهی ما به سر رسید کلاغه به خونش نرسید
(gheseye maa be sar resid, kalaghe be khoonash naresid) |
The tale has been finished, but the crow has not yet arrived at his house. | |
| Pashto | داسي کار وو چي (Daasi kaar wo che) | There was this work that... | Bas | Finish |
| داسي چل وو چي (Daasi chal wo che) | There was this work that... | Bas | Finish | |
| Polish | (Dawno, dawno temu,) za siedmioma górami, za siedmioma lasami... | (A long, long time ago,) beyond seven mountains, beyond seven forests... | ...i żyli długo i szczęśliwie. | ...and they lived long and happily. |
| Za siedmioma górami, za siedmioma rzekami... | Beyond seven mountains, beyond seven rivers... | ...a ja tam byłem, miód i wino piłem. | ...and I was there [usually at a wedding] too, and drank mead and wine. | |
| Portuguese | Era uma vez... | There was, once... | ...e viveram felizes para sempre | ...and they lived happily forever. |
| Qiang | Gver gver ngue du... | A long long time ago... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Romanian | A fost odată, ca niciodată... | There once was, (as never before)... | ...şi au trăit fericiţi până la adânci bătrâneţi. | ...and they lived happily until old age. |
| Russian | Давным-давно (Davnym-davno) | Long, long time ago... | И жили они долго и счастливо. (I zhili oni dolgo i s-chastlivo.) |
...and they lived long and happily. |
| (В некотором царстве, в некотором государстве) Жил, был... ((V nekotorom tsarstve, v nekotorom goosudarstve) Zhil byl...) |
(In some kingdom, in some land) There lived, there was... | |||
| Sanskrit | पुराकाले (Pūrākāle) | In the ancient time... | Unknown | Unknown |
| कदाचित् (Kadājit) | Once upon the time, At any time | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Scots | (missing original) | In the days of auld lang syne | Unknown | Unknown |
| Serbian | Једном давно... (Jednom davno...); Некада давно... |
Once, a long time ago... | ...и живеше сретно/срећно до краја живота. (...i živeše sretno/srećno do kraja života.) | ...and they lived happily for the rest of their lives. |
| Била једном једна... (fem., Bila jednom jedna) Био једном један... |
There once was one... | ...и живеше дуго и сретно/срећно. (...i živeše dugo i sretno/srećno.) | ...and they lived long and happily. | |
| Shona | Paivapo... | A long time ago, there existed | Unknown | Unknown |
| Slovak | Kde bolo, tam bolo... | Where it was, there it was... | ...a žili spolu šťastne, až kým nepomreli. | ...and they lived together happily, until they died. |
| Za horami, za dolami... | Behind the mountains, behind the valleys... | ...a žili spolu šťastne až do smrti. | ...and they lived together happily until the death. | |
| Za siedmimi horami a za siedmimi dolinami... | Behind seven mountains and seven valleys... | ...a pokiaľ nepomreli, žijú šťastne dodnes. | ...and if they haven't die yet, they are still living happily. | |
| Tam, kde sa voda sypala a piesok sa lial... | Where the water was scattering and the sand was pouring... | Zazvonil zvonec a rozprávke je koniec. | A bell rang and the tale comes to its end. | |
| Bol raz jeden... | Once, there was a... | |||
| Slovene | Pred davnimi časi... | A long time ago... | ...in živela sta srečno do konca svojih dni. | ...and they (both) lived happy until the end of their days. |
| Nekoč je bil(a)/živel(a)... | Once upon a time there was/lived... | ...in živeli so srečno do konca svojih dni. | ... and they (all) lived happily until the end of their days. | |
| Somali | Sheeko sheeko, sheeko xariir... | Once upon a time.. | ||
| Spanish | Érase una vez... | There was, once... | ...y vivieron felices y comieron perdices. | ...and they lived happy and ate partridges. |
| Había una vez... | There was, once... | ...y colorín, colorado, este cuento se ha acabado. | ...and red, redder, this tale has ended. | |
| Swahili (east African) | Hapo zamani za kale... | A long time ago | Unknown | Unknown |
| Swedish | Det var en gång... | Once, there was... | ...och så levde de lyckliga i alla sina dagar. | ...and then they lived happily for all of their days. |
| En gång för länge sedan... | Once, long ago... | Snipp snapp snut, så var sagan slut | Snip, snap, snute (snout), thus the story ends. | |
| Tagalog | Noóng unang panahón... | Back in the old time... | At sila'y nabuhay ng masaya | And they lived happily. |
| Tamil language | முன்னொரு காலத்திலே... (Muḷḷoru kālattilē...) | At a time long ago | Subham | The End. |
| Telugu language | అనగనగా ఒక రోజు... (anaganagā oka rōju) | Once upon a day... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Thai | กาลครั้งหนึ่งนานมาแล้ว (gaan kráng nèung naan maa láew) |
Once upon the time (long ago)... | แล้วทุกคนก็อยู่ด้วยกันอย่างมีความสุขตลอดไป (láew túk kon gôr yòo dûay gan yàang mee kwaam sùk dtà-lòt bpai) |
And they lived happily forever. |
| Turkish | Bir varmış, bir yokmuş. Evvel zaman içinde, kalbur saman içinde, cinler cirit oynar iken eski hamam içinde, pireler berber [iken], develer tellal [iken], ben ninemin beşiğini tıngır mıngır sallar iken, uzak diyarların birinde... | Once there was, and once there wasn't. In the long-distant days of yore, when haystacks winnowed sieves, when genies played jereed in the old bathhouse, [when] fleas were barbers, [when] camels were town criers, [and when] I softly rocked my baby grandmother to sleep in her creaking cradle, there was/lived, in an exotic land, far, far away, a/an...*
|
Gökten üç elma düşmüş; biri onların, biri anlatanın, diğeri de dinleyenlerin başına. Onlar ermiş muradına, biz çıkalım kerevetine.
|
Lastly, three apples fell from the sky; one for our story's heroes, one for the person who told their tale, and one for those who listened and promise to share. And with that, they* all achieved their hearts' desires. Let us** now step up and settle into their thrones.***
|
| Ukrainian | Давним-давно (Davnym-davno) | Long, long time ago... | І жили вони довго і щасливо. (I zhyly vony dovho i shchaslyvo.) |
...and they lived long and happily. |
| (В деякому царстві, у деякій державі) жив-був... ((V deyakomu tsarstvi, u deyakiy derzhavi) zhyv-buv...) |
(In some kingdom, in some land) There lived, there was... | |||
| Urdu | ایک دفعہ کا ذکر ہے۔۔۔ (Ek dafa ka zikar hai...) | Once upon a time... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Vietnamese | Ngày xửa ngày xưa... | A long, long time ago... | ...và họ sống hạnh phúc mãi mãi về sau | ...and they live happily ever after |
| Valenciano | Això va anar i era... | This was and was... | I visqueren molts anys de molta felicitat. | And they lived many years of happiness. |
| Això va passar en aquells temps antics | This occurred in those ancient times | Van ser molt feliços, tingueren molts fills i encara viurien si no s'haguessen mort | They were very happy, had many children, and still would live if they had not died | |
| Welsh | Amser maith yn ôl... | A long time ago... | Unknown | Unknown |
Modern variants
- Don McLean's "American Pie" begins with the phrase "A long, long time ago...".
- All nine of the Star Wars films, as well as several of the expanded universe novels, begin with the phrase "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....".
- The musical Into the Woods begins with the Narrator's line, "Once upon a time." The second act commences with his line, "Once upon a time... later..." The musical is a retelling of many famous fairy tales.
- In the Singaporean comedy series Under One Roof, Moses Lim's character Tan Ah Teck begins his stories with "Long before your time, in the southern province of China ...".
- In the 2010 Edgar Wright film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the opening scene narrates the words "Not so long ago, in the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada."
- The opening line of the theme song to MST3k is: "In the not-too-distant future ... next Sunday, A.D."
- Bionicle features the line "In a time, before time...".
- The opening line of the TV series Merlin features the line “In a land of myth, and a time of magic..."
See also
Further Reading
- Герасимова Н.М. Пространственно-временные формулы русской волшебной сказки // Русский фольклор. Т. 18. Славянскне литературы и фольклор: Л.: Наука, 1978. С. 173–180.
- Герасимова Н.М. Формулы русской волшебной сказки // Советская этнография. 1978. № 5. С. 18–28.
- Madden, David. 2006. A Pocketful of Prose. Vintage Short Fiction. Volume Two. Boston: Thomson, p. 117
- Pop M. Die Funktion der Anfangs- und Schlufiformeln im rumaenischen Maerchen // Volksueberlieferung. Hrsg. F. Harkort, K.C. Peeters, R. Wildhaber. Goettingen: Otto Schwartz & Co, 1968. pages 321–326.
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