What does “il y a fort longtemps” mean in French?
Un roi, trois fils et la politesse
A1 French listening practice · French from France · Curated for beginners
Il y a fort longtemps means “a very long time ago,” a classic way to open a tale, like “long, long ago.” The surprise is fort: you know it as “strong,” but before an adjective or adverb it can also mean “very.” That use sounds literary or a little old-fashioned, which suits fairy tales. In everyday speech you’d simply say il y a très longtemps.
The storyteller in this clip piles up three versions in a row: il y a très, très, très longtemps, il y a fort longtemps, il y a bien longtemps. They all mean the same thing, from neutral to storybook. You’ll also meet fort = “very” in polite formulas such as fort aimable (“most kind”) and fort bien (“very well”). The other famous opener is il était une fois, “once upon a time.”