How to Say "Once Upon a Time" in Hindi

एक बार की बात है

ek baar ki baat hai

The English phrase "once upon a time" is translated into Hindi as एक बार की बात है (ek baar ki baat hai).

एक बार की बात है is the standard formulaic opening used to signal the start of a folk tale or fairy tale in Hindi.

Meaning: traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales (adv)

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase can be broken down literally to mean "one time's matter is" or "it is a matter of one time". The word एक means "one".

ek baar ki baat hai

The word बार in the phrase is a distant relative of the English word 'door'.
The opening phrase एक बार की बात है functions as a single semantic unit to signal a shift from reality to fiction.

एक बार की बात है, यूनान में एक महान राजा रहता था।
Once upon a time, there lived a great king in Greece.
This sentence is useful for seeing how to use एक बार की बात है to introduce a story.
Tatoeba #3621279 by sabretou, translation #272201 by CM
एक समय की बात है, एक लड़का अपने घर के पास एक हरे-भरे जंगल में रहता था।
Once upon a time, a boy lived in a lush green forest near his house.
एक बार की बात है, एक जादुई जंगल था।
ek baar ki baat hai, ek jaadui jangal tha.
Once upon a time, there was a magical forest.
एक बार की बात है, एक उड़ने वाला घोड़ा था।
ek baar ki baat hai, ek udne wala ghoda tha.
Once upon a time, there was a flying horse.

Rahul is telling a bedtime story to Priya.

राहुल Rahul

एक बार की बात है, एक बहादुर राजकुमार था।
Ek baar ki baat hai, ek bahadur rajkumar tha.
Once upon a time, there was a brave prince.
प्रिया Priya

वह राजकुमार कहाँ रहता था, राहुल?
Vah rajkumar kahan rehta tha, Rahul?
Where did that prince live, Rahul?
राहुल Rahul

वह पहाड़ों के बीच एक महल में रहता था।
Vah pahadon ke beech ek mahal mein rehta tha.
He lived in a palace among the mountains.
प्रिया Priya

यह कहानी बहुत दिलचस्प लग रही है!
Yah kahani bahut dilchasp lag rahi hai!
This story sounds very interesting!

Sources

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