Phrase guide

once upon a time

adv · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈwʌns.əˈpɑn.əˈtaɪ̯m/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adv

Meaning 1

A long time ago; at some time in the past (a traditional beginning of children's stories, especially fairy tales).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a beautiful princess.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

Formerly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

139 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Abenaki: agwa — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Albanian: na ishte njëherë — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Arabic: كَان يَامَا كَان (kān yāmā kān) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Algerian Arabic: جيتك ما جيتك (jaytek mā jaytek) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Arabic: حاجيتك ما جيتك (ḥājītak mā jītak) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Armenian: կար-չկար (kar-čʻkar) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Armenian: լինում է, չի լինում (linum ē, čʻi linum) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Asturian: ello foi una vegada — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Asturian: ello foi una vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Asturian: una vez yera — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Asturian: yera una vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Asturian: esto yera — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Asturian: eso yera — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Asturian: una vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Azerbaijani: biri var idi, biri yox idi — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Azerbaijani: günlərin bir günündə — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Bashkir: борон-борон заманда (boron-boron zamanda) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Basque: bazen behin — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Basque: behin batean — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Bengali: একদা (ekoda) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Breton: ur wech e oa — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Bulgarian: и́мало едно́ вре́ме (ímalo ednó vréme) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Catalan: hi havia una vegada — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Catalan: això era una vegada — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Cebuano: kaniadtong panahona — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Chinese Mandarin: 很久很久以前 (hěnjiǔ hěnjiǔ yǐqián) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Chinese Mandarin: 從前 /从前 (cóngqián) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Czech: bylo nebylo — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Danish: der var engang — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Dutch: er was eens — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Esperanto: iam estis — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Estonian: oli kord — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Estonian: elas kord — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Estonian: üks kord ennemuistsel ajal — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Estonian: ükskord — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Faroese: einaferð var tað — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Finnish: olipa kerran — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Finnish: olipa kerran kauan sitten — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • French: il était une fois — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • French: il y avait une fois — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Galician: había unha vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Galician: cando os animais falaban — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Georgian: იყო და არა იყო რა (iq̇o da ara iq̇o ra) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Georgian: იყო და არა იყო რა, ღვთის უკეთესი რა იქნებოდა (iq̇o da ara iq̇o ra, ɣvtis uḳetesi ra ikneboda) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • German: es war einmal — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Greek: μια φορά κι έναν καιρό (mia forá ki énan kairó) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Greek: μια φορά ήταν δεν ήταν (mia forá ítan den ítan) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Ancient Greek: ἦν γάρ ποτε χρόνος (ên gár pote khrónos) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Ancient Greek: οὕτω ποτ’ ἦν μῦς καὶ γαλῆ (hoútō pot’ ên mûs kaì galê) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Hamer-Banna: ɛ́na waɗénka — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Hebrew: הָיֹה הָיָה (hayó hayá) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Hindi: किसी ज़माने में (kisī zamāne mẽ) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Hungarian: egyszer volt, hol nem volt — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Hungarian: hol volt, hol nem volt — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Icelandic: einu sinni var — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Icelandic: það var einu sinni — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Ido: olim — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Igbo: orue otu mgbe — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Indonesian: pada suatu hari — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Indonesian: pada zaman dahulu — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Interlingua: il era un vice — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Interlingua: olim — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Irish: feacht n-aon — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Irish: fadó fadó — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Irish: tráth dá raibh — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Irish: lá den saol — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Italian: c'era una volta — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Jamaican Creole: one time — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Japanese: 昔昔 (mukashi-mukashi) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Japanese: 昔々 (mukashi-mukashi) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Japanese: 今は昔 (ima wa mukashi) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Khmer: កាលពីព្រេងនាយ (kaal pii preing niəy) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Khmer: កាលដើមឡើយ (kaaldaəmlaəy) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Komi-Zyrian: оліс-выліс (olis-vylis) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Korean: 옛날 옛적에 (yennal yetjeog-e) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Korean: 옛날 옛적 (yennal yetjeok) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Central Kurdish: ڕۆژێ لە ڕۆژان (rojê le rojan) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Central Kurdish: ھەبوو نەبوو (hebû nebû) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Northern Kurdish: hebû tune bû — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Northern Kurdish: hebû nebû — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Northern Kurdish: rojek ji rojan — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Northern Kurdish: carekê ji caran — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Latin: ōlim — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Latvian: reiz sensenos laikos — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Lithuanian: seniai, labai seniai — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Malay: pada suatu masa — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Malay: pada suatu hari — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Malayalam: ഒരിക്കൽ (orikkal) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Malayalam: പണ്ടൊരിക്കൽ (paṇṭorikkal) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Māori: tērā tētahi — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Māori: tērā ētahi — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Norwegian Bokmål: det var en gang — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: det var ein gong — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Old English: ǣr — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Old English: ġēara — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Old English: ġēardagum — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Old English: fyrn — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Old English: ġefyrn — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Iranian Persian: یِکی بود یِکی نَبود (yeki bud yeki nabud) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Iranian Persian: روزی روزِگاری (ruzi ruzegâri) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Iranian Persian: روزی اَز روزْها (ruzi az ruzhâ) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Plautdietsch: donnemol — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Polish: pewnego razu — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Polish: dawno, dawno temu — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Polish: za górami, za lasami — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Portuguese: era uma vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Portuguese: havia uma vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Romanian: a fost odată — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Romanian: a fost odată ca niciodată — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Russian: жи́ли-бы́ли (žíli-býli) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Russian: давны́м-давно́ (davným-davnó) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Russian: в тридевя́том ца́рстве, в тридеся́том госуда́рстве (v tridevjátom cárstve, v tridesjátom gosudárstve) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Sanskrit: पुराकाले (purākāle) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Sanskrit: कदाचित् (kadācit) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Sardinian: B'aiat una borta — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Scottish Gaelic: bha siud ann uaireigin — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Sinhala: එකෝමත් එක කාලෙක (ekōmat eka kāleka) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Spanish: érase una vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Spanish: había una vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Spanish: era una vez — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Sranan Tongo: er tin tin — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Swahili: hapo zamani za kale — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Swedish: det var en gång — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Tagalog: noong unang panahon — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Tamil: முன்னொரு காலத்தில் (muṉṉoru kālattil) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Tamil: முன்னொரு காலத்துல (muṉṉoru kālattula) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Telugu: ఒకానొకప్పుడు (okānokappuḍu) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Telugu: అనగనగా (anaganagā) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Thai: กาลครั้งหนึ่ง (gaa-lá-kráng-nʉ̀ng) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Tok Pisin: bipo tru — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Turkish: bir varmış, bir yokmuş — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Ukrainian: жи́ли-були́ (žýly-bulý) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Ukrainian: давни́м-давно́ (davným-davnó) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Unami: kwëtën — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Urdu: کِسی زَمانے میں (kisī zamāne mẽ) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Vietnamese: ngày xửa ngày xưa — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Welsh: unwaith — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Wolof: amone nafi — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales
  • Yiddish: אַ מאָל (a mol) — traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales