40352
**(Question A) "Once upon a time" is to "The End" as "昔々" is to "______" ?**

Here are my thoughts and problems with some possible answers:

  * ザーエンド

    * using ザー as "the". But this seems problematic since I don't hear "the" having this pronunciation for this use. Usually it sounds more like the "the" in " **the** se" such that it should sound like ディー or ズィー
    * it is problematic by virtue of being incompatible with 昔々 since using an English loanword is not compatible with the time/ambience that 昔々 creates
  * 終わりです

    * Is this too literal? Or sounds too much like a complete sentence or a direct description to be an idiomatic ending.
  * おしまい

  * Null (∅)

    * The story ends without any idiomatic closing phrase

**(Question B) In reverse, _suppose_ we constrain the situation and
use(enforce) a Loanword equivalent for example "ディーエンド" as an ending, what
would be the corresponding appropriate way to start the story.**

  * Can 昔々 still be used and sound natural?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-27T05:34:59.043
40349
2016-10-28T03:56:22.837
2016-10-27T05:58:30.253
542
542
question
set-phrases idioms word-requests
"Once upon a time" is to "The End" as "昔々" is to "______"?
(Question A) "Once upon a time" is to "The End" as "昔々" is to "______" ?

>   * Once upon a time... ...The End.
>
>   * 昔々... ... **めでたしめでたし** 。
>
>
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-27T05:51:05.863
40350
2016-10-27T05:51:05.863
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
7055
40349
answer
@sazarando gave a good answer.

めでたしめでたし basically mean they lived happily ever after.

"The end" at the end of a movie or book is sometimes just written as  
"終"  
or even the French word  
"fin"  
or simply the English  
"the end"
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-27T05:54:59.403
40351
2016-10-27T05:54:59.403
18142
40349
answer
# Japanese

  

> ザーエンド

"The End"は、普通は「ザ・エンド」ではなく「ジ・エンド」と言うことが多いと思います。でも、昔話の最後に「ジ・エンド」を使うことはないと思います。

> おしまい

紙芝居、絵本、口頭で話される昔話などは、「むかしむかし（あるところに～～が住んでいました）」から始まって「（～～とさ、）おしまい。」で終わることが多いと思います。「めでたしめでたし。」で終わることもあると思います。「おしまい」のかわりに「終わり」「おわり」と書いてある絵本もあります。

昔話の最後につける「おしまい」には、方言がたくさんあります。山形のある地域では「～だと。とんびすかんこねえけど。」「～～‌​だと。とんびからりんこねえけど。」などが‌​あります。この二つしか覚えていませんが、‌​もっといろいろありました。京都や他の地域‌​にもそれぞれあるのでしょうけど、私はこれ‌​しか知りません。

* * *

Question B に関しては・・・
「ジ・エンド」は、ほとんどの人が理解できると思いますが（小さい子供はムリかもしれませんが）、「ワンスアポンナタイム」とか‌​書いたら（または言ったら）わからない人が‌​いそうですし、かなり変わってる感じがしま‌​す。ですので、やっぱり「むかしむかし・・‌​・」と、普通に始めて、「―
ジ・エンド ―」とか「-- THE END --」などで終わるしかないかな・・という気がします。

# English

  

> ザーエンド

I think "The End" is usually 「ジ・エンド」 instead of 「ザ・エンド」. Even so, I think
「ジ・エンド」 is not used for 昔話 stories.

> おしまい

For stories told in puppet theatre, picture storybooks, or verbal
storytelling, after opening with「 むかしむかし（あるところに～～が住んでいました）」there are many
times the storyteller ends with 「（～～とさ、）おしまい。」.「めでたしめでたし。」 may also be used to
end the story. There are also storybooks where 「終わり」,「おわり」is written at the
end in place of 「おしまい」.

There are also dialectal variations of ending a story. A region in Yamagata
has story endings like 「～だと。とんびすかんこねえけど。」,「～～‌​だと。とんびからりんこねえけど。」. I cannot
recall other variations but there are more variations than these two. Kyoto
and other regions probably also each have their own variations but I only know
of the two above.

* * *

For the second question. If 「ジ・エンド」 is used, I think most people (maybe with
the exception of young children) will understand. However if 「ワンスアポンナタイム」is
written (or said), it seems there will be many people that will find it
strange. So, I think it is best to stick to the usual「むかしむかし・・‌​・」to begin the
story and end with「― ジ・エンド ―」or「-- THE END --」since I feel that there is no
choice under this constraint.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-27T06:55:47.483
40352
2016-10-28T03:56:22.837
2016-10-28T03:56:22.837
542
9831
40349
answer