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How to say in esperanto Once upon a time?

by levi, April 13, 2009

Messages: 6

Language: English

levi (User's profile) April 13, 2009, 5:34:02 PM

Hi! Thanks for your answer on the "casting vote". I have another question if you would help, I cannot find the answer in the dictionary. How to say once upon a time in esperanto? Thanks again in advance, cheers. I hope it will let me send the message, it tells me that message is too short.

Sebastian85DE (User's profile) April 13, 2009, 6:22:11 PM

I think I've heard "estis unu fojo" a couple of times. rideto.gif

Oŝo-Jabe (User's profile) April 13, 2009, 7:24:30 PM

I've heard that 'Iam estis...' was used as the beginning of Esperanto fairy tales.

Miland (User's profile) April 13, 2009, 8:58:11 PM

Iam.

Here's the beginning of Don Harlow's translation of "Aladdin and the magic lamp", for example:

Iam vivis malriĉa tajloro, kiu havis filon nomitan Aladino, senzorgan, mallaboreman knabon kiu faris nenion krom pilkludi la tutan tagon...

patrik (User's profile) April 14, 2009, 1:48:08 PM

I don't say that this one is totally correct but I think I would say it this way: "Iam for antaŭe..."

russ (User's profile) April 18, 2009, 10:56:50 AM

patrik:I don't say that this one is totally correct but I think I would say it this way: "Iam for antaŭe..."
Grammatically/linguistically OK, but it seems to have no established history of idiomatic use like the English "Once upon a time". (I find no hits with http://tekstoj.nl/kukolo )

Simply "Estis iam" appears in some translations of Andersen's fables by Zamenhof. Also "Antaû multaj jaroj vivis" and other such variations.

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