Thread: once upon a time

What do all of these mean, and what are the differences?

1. однажды

2 жили-были

3 жал да был

4 давным- давно

Everything except first one is a common beginning of fairy tales (as well as "Once upon a time"). When you introduce multiple people, you say "Жили-были", when you introduce one man, you say "Жил да был" (or "Жила-была"). When you don't introduce anyone, you say "Давным-давно" (which, basically, means "Once upon a time").

First is an introduction for a strory (not a fairy tale, just a story) that basically says that something happened in the past.

Однажды is neutral and usually means Once.

жили-были and the like are used mostly in fairy-tales (lit., They lived-They were)

Давным-давно is emphatic way of saying 'Very long time ago' , very colloquial and informal. To be often used in fairy-tales, but not only.