once upon a time
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once upon a time
- /ˈwʌns.əˈpɑn.əˈtaɪ̯m/
adverb
- A long time ago; at some time in the past (a traditional beginning of children's stories, especially fairy tales). Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a beautiful princess.
- Formerly. Long before popular music evolved its many genres and subgenres, the industry was driven by a simple one-size-fits-all philosophy […] Songwriters, once upon a time, wrote songs for the masses.
Translations
Every language
adv traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
| Español | érase una vez, había una vez, era una vez |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 옛날 옛적에 yennal yetjeog-e, 옛날 옛적 yennal yetjeok |
| 日本語 | 昔昔 mukashi-mukashi, 昔々 mukashi-mukashi, 今は昔 ima wa mukashi |
| 中文 | 很久很久以前 hěnjiǔ hěnjiǔ yǐqián, 從前 /从前 cóngqián |
| हिन्दी | किसी ज़माने में kisī zamāne mẽ |
| Kiswahili | hapo zamani za kale |
| Português | era uma vez, havia uma vez |
| Français | il était une fois, il y avait une fois |
| Deutsch | es war einmal |
| Italiano | c'era una volta |
| Ελληνικά | μια φορά κι έναν καιρό mia forá ki énan kairó, μια φορά ήταν δεν ήταν mia forá ítan den ítan |
| Română | a fost odată, a fost odată ca niciodată |
| Русский | жи́ли-бы́ли žíli-býli, давны́м-давно́ davným-davnó, в тридевя́том ца́рстве, в тридеся́том госуда́рстве v tridevjátom cárstve, v tridesjátom gosudárstve |
| Tiếng Việt | ngày xửa ngày xưa |
| العربية | كَان يَامَا كَان kān yāmā kān |
| עברית | הָיֹה הָיָה hayó hayá |
Talk about this word "once upon a time." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/once%20upon%20a%20time. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. once upon a time. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/once%20upon%20a%20time "once upon a time." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/once%20upon%20a%20time.Cite this
@misc{once_upon_a_time_2026,
title = {once upon a time},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/once%20upon%20a%20time},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
