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:
“The less sophisticated of my forbears avoided foreigners at all costs, for the very good reason that, in their circles, speaking in tongues was commonly a prelude to snake handling. The more tolerant among us regarded foreign languages as a kind of speech impediment that could be overcome by willpower.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“The trouble with foreign languages is, you have to think before your speak.”
—Swedish proverb, trans. by Verne Moberg.