Once upon a time

This article is about the stock phrase. For other uses of the term, see Once Upon a Time.

Frontispiece to The How and Why Library, 1909

"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase that has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) in storytelling in the English language, and seems to have become a widely accepted convention for opening oral narratives by around 1600. These stories often then end with "and they all lived happily ever after", or, originally, "happily until their deaths". These are examples of the narrative form, and occur most frequently in the narratives produced for children aged between 6 and 8.

The phrase is particularly prevalent 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, and of Hans Christian Andersen as a translation for the Danish der var engang, and the Brothers Grimm as a translation for the German es war einmal (literally "it was once").

The phrase is also frequently used in oral storytelling, such as retellings of myths, fables, and folklore.

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	Onek din aagekar kotha...	It's story of long time ago	aamaar kothati furolo; Note gaachhti murolo	And they lived happy forever; My story ends here
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: [undefined] Error: {{Lang}}: no text (help)	A very very long time ago...	T: 從此，他們過著幸福快樂的日子 S: [undefined] Error: {{Lang}}: no text (help)	... 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, ...] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: cz (help)	There was, there was not...	[... a žili šťastně až do smrti.] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: cz (help)	...and they lived happily until they died.
	[Byl jednou jeden...] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: cz (help)	There was once a ...	[...a jestli neumřeli, žijí tam dodnes.] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: cz (help)	...and if they have not died yet, they still live there today.
			[Zazvonil zvonec a pohádky je konec.] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language code: cz (help)	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
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
Greek (Ancient)	Ἦν γάρ ποτε χρόνος ... (Ê̄n gár pote chrónos ...)	There was once a time [when] ...	none	none
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 var...	Once there was...	Og þau lifðu hamingjusöm til æviloka	And the lived happy for the rest of their lives.
			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	Dahulu kala...	Long time ago...	Unknown	Unknown
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] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized script: japn for code: ja (help), 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 (Grigo 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
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.
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 [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.
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... (Nekada davno...)	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... (masc., Bio jednom jedan) Било једном једно... (neuter, Bilo jednom jedno)	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...	There was, once...	...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...	Unknown	Unknown
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... (asagasagā 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...	Unknown	Unknown
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 six of the Star Wars films begin with the phrase 'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...'
• 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.'
• MST3k theme song opening line: 'In the not-too-distant future...next Sunday, A.D.'

References

• 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. S. 321-326.
• Рошияну Н. Традиционные формулы сказки. М.: ГРВЛ–Наука, 1974.
• 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.
• Разумова И.А. Стилистическая обрядность русской волшебной сказки. Петрозаводск: Карелия, 1991.