"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

Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...

) in storytelling

Storytelling

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...

 in the English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, 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

Happy ending

A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the protagonists, their sidekicks, and almost everyone except the villains....

", 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 tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

s 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

Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue...

 as a translation for the French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 il était une fois, and of Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...

 as a translation for the Danish

Danish language

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...

 "der var engang", and the Brothers Grimm

Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...

 as a translation for the German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 es war einmal (literally "it was once").

The phrase is also frequently used in oral storytelling, such as retellings of myths

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

, fables, and folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

.

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 Albanian language Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...	Na ishte një herë..	'Once there was...'	'Dhe ata jetuan të lumtur pergjithmonë'	And they lived happy forever
Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...	Eendag, lank gelede...	'One day, a long time ago...'	'Fluit, fluit, die storie is uit'	'Whistle, whistle, the story is done'
Algerian Arabic Languages of Algeria The official language of Algeria is Arabic, as specified in its constitution since 1963. In addition to this, Berber has been recognized as a "national language" by constitutional amendment since May 8, 2002. Between them, these two languages are the native languages of over 99% of Algerians,...	Hajitek ma jitek (حجيتك ما جيتك)	'I've told you what's coming'	Unknown	Unknown
Classical Arabic Classical Arabic Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...	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 Assamese language Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...	Bahut dinor agot...	'Long time ago...'	Unknown	Unknown
Armenian Armenian language The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...	Կար-չկար...	'There was, there was not...'	Unknown	Unknown
Azeri Azerbaijani language Azerbaijani or Azeri or Torki is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the Azerbaijani people, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran...	Biri var idi, biri yox idi...	'There was, (and) there was not...'	Unknown	Unknown
Bengali Bengali language Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...	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 Bulgarian language Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...	Имало едно време...	'There was, once upon a time...'	...и три дни яли, пили и се веселили	'...and three days they ate, drunk and had fun.'
Catalan Catalan language Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...	Hi havia/això era una vegada	'There was a time...'	I vet aqui un gos, vet aqui 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 Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...	T: "很久很久以前"	"lit. A very very long time ago..."	T:從此，他們過著幸福快樂的日子	'... and they lived a happy life'
Croatian Croatian language Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...	Jednom davno...	'Once, a long time ago...'	... i živjeli su dugo i sretno.	'...and they lived long and happily.'
Czech Czech language Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...	Bylo nebylo,...	'There was, there was not...'	... a žili šťastně až do smrti.	'...and they lived happily until they died.'
			... 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.'
Ekoti Ekoti language The Koti language, or Ekoti , is a Bantu language spoken in Mozambique by about 64,200 people, the Koti people . Koti is spoken on Koti Island and is also the major language of Angoche, the capital of the district with the same name in the province of Nampula.In terms of genetic classification,...  (Mozambique, Bantu Bantu languages The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages... )	Rakú z'éepo waarí-vó oswááipu nwúlw'eéne saána	'Once upon the time, there was a truly great friendship...'	Unknown	Unknown
Danish Danish language Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...	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 Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...	Er was eens...	'Once there was...'	... en ze leefden nog lang en gelukkig	'... and they lived a long and happy life'.
Esperanto Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...	Iam estis...	'Once there was'	Unknown	Unknown
Euskara	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)'.
Finnish Finnish language Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...	Olipa kerran...	'Once there was...'	Sen pituinen se.	'That's the length of it.'
French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...	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 German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....	Es war ein Mal...	'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 Georgian language Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...	"Iko da ara iko ra, iko..."	'There was, and there was not, there was...'	Unknown	Unknown
Goemai Goemai language Goemai is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in the Plateau state of Central Nigeria by approximately 200,000 people. Its speakers refer to themselves and their language as 'Goemai'; in older linguistic, historical and ethnographical literature the term 'Ankwe' has been used to refer to the...  (Nigeria, West Chadic Chadic languages The Chadic languages constitute a language family of perhaps 200 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon, belonging to the Afroasiatic phylum... )	Unknown	Unknown	Tamtis noe lat/ dok ba muaan yi wa	'My tale has finished, (it) has returned to go (and) come home.'
Greek Greek language Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...	Μια φορά κι έναν καιρό...	'Once, in another time...'	...και ζήσανε αυτοί καλά και εμείς καλύτερα.	'And they lived well, and we lived better.'
Greek (Ancient) Ancient Greek Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...	"Ἦν γάρ ποτε..."	"Once there was..."	Unknown
Gujarati Gujarati language Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...	ઘણાં વર્ષો પહેલાંની વાત છે.	'This is an old story.'	Unknown	Unknown
	એક જમાનામાં..	'In one era, ..'	Unknown	Unknown
	વર્ષો પહેલાં	'A long back'	Unknown	Unknown
Hebrew Hebrew language Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...	Hayo hayah pa'am... (הָיֹה הָיָה פעם)	'Once there was...'	Ve'Hem Haiu Be'Osher Va'O'sher Ad Etzem Ha'Yom Ha'Ze (והם חיו באושר ועושר עד עצם היום הזה)	'And they lived in happiness and luxury to this very day.'
Hindi Hindi Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...	किसी ज़माने में	'In one era, ...'	Unknown	Unknown
	बहुत पुरानी बात है	'It's an old story, ...'	Unknown	Unknown
Hungarian Hungarian language Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....	Egyszer volt, hol nem volt, volt egyszer egy...	'Once there was, where there wasn't, there was a...'	Itt a vége, fuss el véle! or Boldogan éltek, amíg meg nem haltak.	'This is the end; run away with it.' or 'They lived happily until they died.'
Icelandic Icelandic language Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...	Einu sinni var…	'Once there was…'	"Og þau lifðu hamingjusöm til æviloka" or "Köttur úti í mýri, setti upp á sér stýri, úti er ævintýri"	"And the lived happy for the rest of their lives" or "Cat out in the swamp, lifted its tail, the adventure finished is"
| Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Indonesian Indonesian language Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....	Dahulu kala...	'Long time ago...'	Unknown	Unknown
Iraqw Iraqw The Iraqw, known as the Mbulu in Swahili, are a Cushitic people of the Arusha and Manyara Regions of north-central Tanzania, near the Rift Valley wall and south of Ngorongoro Crater...  (Tanzania, Kenya, Cushitic Cushitic languages The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt. They are named after the Biblical character Cush, who was identified as an ancestor of the speakers of these specific languages as early as AD 947... )	tokaro-yâ	'once upon a time'	Unknown	Unknown
	(oral literature Oral literature Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do... ) 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 Irish language Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...	Fadó, fadó, fadó a bhí ann (agus bhí rí i nGaillimh)	'A long, long, long time ago it was (and there was a king Monarch A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...  in Galway Galway Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the... .'	Unknown	Unknown
Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...	C'era una volta...	'Once there was...'	'E vissero felici e contenti'	And they lived happy and content.
Japanese Japanese language is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...	Mukashi mukashi (昔昔, 昔々, むかしむかし)	'Long ago, long ago ...'	Medetashi medetashi (めでたしめでたし)	'So blissful'
Korean Korean language Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...	Yet-nal Yet-jeok-e... (옛날 옛적에...)	'A long, long time ago...'	Unknown	Unknown
Kannada Kannada language Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...	Ondanondu kaaladalli...	'Once, in a long past age,...'	Unknown	Unknown
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz language Kyrgyz or Kirgiz, also Kirghiz, Kyrghiz, Qyrghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...	ilgeri-ilgeri... (илгери-илгери..)	'A long, long time ago...'	Unknown	Unknown
Latin Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...	Olim...	'At that time'	Unknown	Unknown
Latvian Latvian language Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...	Reiz sen senos laikos...	'Once long ago in times long gone'	Unknown	Unknown
Lithuanian Lithuanian language Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...	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 Luxembourgish language Luxembourgish is a High German language spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 320,000 people worldwide speak Luxembourgish.-Language family:... :	Et war eemol... (old orthography: Et wor eemol...)	'Once there was...'	Unknown	Unknown
Macedonia Macedonian language Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...	Си беше еднаш...	'Once upon the time there was...'	Unknown	Unknown
Malayalam Malayalam language Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...	Pandu Oridathu...	'Long ago, at a place...'	Unknown	Unknown
Malay Malay language Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...	'Pada Suatu Masa Dahulu...'	' Once Upon a Time'	Unknown	Unknown
Maragoli Maragoli The Maragoli, or Logoli , are the second largest tribe of the 6 million-strong Luhya nation in Kenya, after the Bukusu. The dialect they speak is called Llogoli, Urulogoli, or Maragoli....  Kenyan language related to other Luhya languages.	Mmadikhu ga khaare	'In olden days'	Unknown	Unknown
Maltese Maltese language Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...	Mela darba...	Once...	Unknown	Unknown
Moroccan Arabic Moroccan Arabic Moroccan Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco. For official communications, the government and other public bodies use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries. A mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in business...	Hajitek ma jitek (حجيتك ما جيتك)	'I've told you what's coming'	Unknown	Unknown
Nepali language Nepali language Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...	eka desh ma (एका देशमा)	'Once in a country...'	Unknown	Unknown
Norwegian Norwegian language Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...	Det var en gang...	'There was, once...'	Og så levde dei lukkelege alle sine dagar	'And then they lived happily for the remainder of their days'
			Og er dei ikkje døde, så lever dei enno.	'And if they're not dead, they still live'
			Snip, snap, snute, så er eventyret ute	'Snip, snap, snute (snout) - then this adventure is finished.'
Persian Persian language Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...	"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 Pashto language Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...	"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 Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...	Dawno, dawno temu...	'Long, long time ago...'	... i żyli długo i szczęśliwie.	'...and they lived long and happily.'
Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...	Era uma vez...	'There was, once...'	"... e viveram felizes para sempre"	'... and they lived happily forever'
Romanian Romanian language Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...	A fost odată, ca niciodată...	'There once was, (as never before)...'	...şi au trăit fericiţi până la adânci bătrâneţi.	'...and they lived happily ever after.'
Russian Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...	Давным-давно	'Long, long time ago...'	И жили они долго и счастливо.	'...and they lived long and happily.'
Sanskrit Sanskrit Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...	Pūrākāle (पुराकाले)	'In the ancient time...'	Unknown	Unknown
	Kadājit (कदाचित्)	'Once upon the time'/'At any time'	Unknown	Unknown
Scots Scots Scots may refer to:*The Scottish people, the inhabitants of Scotland*Scots language *Scotch-Irish*Scottish English*Scots pine, a Scottish tree*Short for Pound Scots...	(missing original)	"In the days of auld lang syne"	Unknown	Unknown
Serbian Serbian language Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....	'Једном давно.../Некада давно...	'Once, a long time ago...'	...и живеше сретно/срећно до краја живота.	'...and they lived happily for the rest of their lives.'
Serbian Serbian language Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....	Била једном једна...(feminine Feminine Feminine, or femininity, normally refers to qualities positively associated with women.Feminine may also refer to:*Feminine , a grammatical gender*Feminine cadence, a final chord falling in a metrically weak position... )/Био једном један...(masculine Masculine Masculine or masculinity, normally refer to qualities positively associated with men.Masculine may also refer to:*Masculine , a grammatical gender*Masculine cadence, a final chord occurring on a strong beat in music... )/Било једном једно...(neuter Neuter Neuter is a Latin adjective meaning "neither", and can refer to:* Neutering, the sterilization of an animal* The neuter grammatical gender-See also:*Trap-Neuter-Return , an alternative to euthanasia for managing feral cat and dog populations... )	'There once was one...'	...и живеше дуго и сретно/срећно.	'...and they lived long and happily.'
Shona Shona language Shona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...	"Paivapo..."	'a long time ago,there existed'	Unknown	Unknown
Slovak Slovak language Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...	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 (dual Dual Dual may refer to:* Dual , a notion of paired concepts that mirror one another** Dual , a formalization of mathematical duality** . . ... ) srečno, do konca svojih dni.	'... and they (both) lived happy until the end of their days.'
	Nekoč (davno) ...	'Once...'	... in živeli so (plural Plural In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one... ) srečno, do konca svojih dni.	'... and they (all) lived happily until the end of their days.'
Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...	Érase/Había una vez...	'There was, once...'	... y vivieron felices /y comieron perdices.	'...and they lived happy forever/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 Swahili language Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...  (east African)	Hapo zamani za kale...	'a long time ago'	Unknown	Unknown
Swedish Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...	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 Tagalog language Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...	Noong unang panahon...	'During the old days (a long time ago)...'	Unknown	Unknown
Tamil language Tamil language Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...	முன்னொரு காலத்திலே...	'At a time long ago'	Unknown	Unknown
Telugu language Telugu language Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...	అనగనగా ఒక రోజు...	'Once upon a day..'	Unknown	Unknown
Thai Thai language Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...	กาลครั้งหนึ่งนานมาแล้ว	'Once upon the time (long ago)...'	แล้วทุกคนก็อยู่ด้วยกันอย่างมีความสุขตลอดไป	'and they lived happily forever'
Turkish Turkish language Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...	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...' *http://aton.ttu.edu	Onlar ermiş muradına, biz çıkalım kerevetine.	"They have reached their goal, let's settle"
Urdu Urdu Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...	ایک دفعہ کا ذکر ہے۔۔۔ ('Ek dafa ka zikar hai...')	'Once upon a time...'	Unknown	Unknown
Vietnamese Vietnamese language Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...	Ngày xửa ngày xưa...	'A long, long time ago...'	Unknown	Unknown
Welsh Welsh language Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...	Amser maith yn ôl...	'A long time ago...'	Unknown	Unknown

Modern variants

• Don McLean's
  Don McLean
  Donald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
  
   "American Pie" begins with the phrase 'A long, long time ago...'
• All six of the Star Wars
  Star Wars
  Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
  
  films begin with the phrase 'A long time ago, in a galaxy
  Galaxy
  A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
  
   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
  Edgar Wright
  Edgar Howard Wright is an English film and television director and writer. He is most famous for his work with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on the films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the TV series Spaced, and for directing the film Scott Pilgrim vs...
  
   film, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The film is about Scott Pilgrim , a young Canadian musician, meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers , an American delivery girl...
  
  , the opening scene narrates the words 'Not so long ago, in the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada.'