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 jetuan të lumtur 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 |
| 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 | Bahut dinor agot... | Long time ago... | Unknown | Unknown |
| Armenian | Կար-չկար... (Kar-čkar...) | There was, there was not... | Unknown | Unknown |
| 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... | |||
| Bulgarian | Имало едно време... (Imalo edno vreme...) |
There was, once upon a time... | ...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... | I vet aquí un gos, vet aquí un gat, aquest conte s'ha acabat | and with a dog and a cat, the 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 žive još i danas ako nisu umrli. | ...and they still live today if they haven't died. |
| 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. | |
| 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 still live. | |
| Dutch | Er was eens... | Once there was... | ... en ze leefden nog lang en gelukkig. | ...and they lived a long and happy life. |
| En toen kwam er een varken met een lange snuit, en het verhaaltje is 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. | |||
| 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... | ...ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants | ...they lived happily and had many children. |
| German | Es war einmal... | Once there was... | ...und sie lebten glücklich und zufrieden bis ans Ende ihrer Tage. | ...and they lived happily and contentedly until the end of their days. |
| ...und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, dann leben sie noch heute. | ...and if they haven't died yet, they are still living today. | |||
| 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... | ...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 a time... | 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...) |
A long, long time ago... | 그리고 행복하게 살았답니다 (Geurigo haeng-bok hage sal-at dabnida) |
And they lived happily after that. |
| 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... | Unknown | Unknown |
| 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 suatu masa 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 Kenyan language related to other Luhya languages | Mmadikhu ga khaare | In olden days | Unknown | Unknown |
| Maltese | Darba, zmien ilu... | Once upon a time... | U (gh)exu henjin u kuntenti ghal 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 | Unknown | Unknown |
| یکی بود، یکی نبود، غیر از خدا هیچ کس 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. | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Pashto | داسي کار وو چي (Daasi kaar wo che) |
There was this work that... | Unknown | Unknown |
| داسي چل وو چي (Daasi chal wo che) |
There was this work that... | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Polish | Dawno, dawno temu... | Long, long time ago... | ...i żyli długo i szczęśliwie. | ...and they lived long and happily. |
| ...a ja tam byłem, miód i wino piłem. | ...and I was there too, and drank mead and wine. | |||
| Portuguese | Era uma vez... | There was, once... | ...e viveram felizes para sempre | ...and they lived happily forever. |
| 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 šťastne až kým nepomreli. | ...and they lived happily, until they died. |
| 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 (davno)... | Once... | ...in živeli so srečno, do konca svojih dni. | ... and they (all) lived happily until the end of their days. | |
| 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 | Unknown | Unknown |
| 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... | Once there was, once there wasn't. In the old times, the sieve in a stack of hay... | Onlar ermiş muradına, biz çıkalım kerevetine. | They have reached their goal, let's settle. |
| 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 |
| Welsh | Amser maith yn ôl... | A long time ago... | Unknown | Unknown |
Read more about this topic: Once Upon A Time
Famous quotes containing the word languages:
“No doubt, to a man of sense, travel offers advantages. As many languages as he has, as many friends, as many arts and trades, so many times is he a man. A foreign country is a point of comparison, wherefrom to judge his own.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It is time for dead languages to be quiet.”
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)