fairy tale

Definitions

1. A folktale or literary story featuring fairies or similar fantasy characters.
2. The literary genre of these stories.
   uncountable
3. A story presented as true that is not believable.
4. A delightful and ideal situation of a kind attained by very few.

Equivalents

56 more languages

العربيةأسطورةحدوتةحِكَايَة رَمْزِيَّةخرافةقِصَّة خُرَافِيَّة+ 2 more

Azərbaycan dilinağıl

Беларускаяба́йкаказка

Българскиприказка

বাংলারূপকথা

Bosanskibajkamešepaśakasagaбајкалегенда+ 3 more

Češtinabáchorkapohádkapohádkový

Cymraegchwedl

Danskeventyr

Ελληνικάπαραμύθι

Esperantofabelo

Eestimuinasjutt

Suomiihmesatukansansatusatu

Gaeilgeamaidíbréagfinscéalseafóidsíscéal+ 2 more

Galegoconto de fadas

עבריתאגדהמעשייה

Hrvatskibajkamešepaśakasagaбајкалегенда+ 3 more

Magyarmesetündérmese

Հայերենհեքիաթ

Bahasa Indonesiadongeng

Íslenskaævintýri

Italianofavolafiabafola

日本語おとぎ話フェアリーテールメルヘン昔話民話神話童話+ 4 more

ქართულიზღაპარი

Қазақ тіліертегіертек

ភាសាខ្មែរទេពនិទាននិទានរឿងដំណាលរឿងព្រេង+ 1 more

한국어동화메르헨민화신화옛날이야기옛이야기+ 3 more

Kurdîefsanefabelsaga

Кыргызчажомок

Latinafābula

LëtzebuergeschMärchen

ລາວນິທານ

Lietuviųpasaka

Latviešupasaka

Македонскибајкаприказнасказна

Bahasa Melayudongeng

မြန်မာဒဏ္ဍာရီသမိုင်း

Nederlandssprookje

Polskibajecznybajkabajkowybajowybaśńbaśniowy+ 3 more

پښتوافسانه

Portuguêsconto de fadas

Românăbasm

Русскийбайкабаснялегендамифнебыли́цапри́тчасказка+ 4 more

Slovenčinarozprávka

Slovenščinapravljica

Shqippërrallë

Српскиbajkamešepaśakasagaбајкалегенда+ 3 more

Svenskasaga

Тоҷикӣафсонақисса

ไทยเทพนิยาย

Tagalogkakana

Türkçeefsanemasalperi masalı

Українськаба́йкаказкаказочка

اردوافسانہ

O'zbekchachoʻpchak

Tiếng Việtchuyện cổ tíchđồng thoại

Examples

“I used to love⟳ reading fairy tales when I was a child.”

“The Wife of Bathes Tale is evidently a Fairy-tale. It thus commences: In olde dayes of the king Artour, / Of which that Bretons speken gret honour, / All was this land⟳ fulfilled of faerie.”

“The Arabian Nights rehears'd in bed! / The Fairy Tales in school-time read⟳.”

“Their dresses were rich, and when they came bounding forward⟳, their shapes of silver tissue, with their feathered diadems and faces of animated beauty, they might be imagined into scarcely less than the creations of fairy tale.”

“Mr. Shimerda kneels in front of the tree in prayer; a praying figure⟳ under a magic tree is a common one in fairy tale.”

“He's telling us another fairy tale about how great the software will be.”

“If emigrants will submit⟳ to the "fairy tales" of Mr. Thomas, and fall⟳ in with his suggestions, they must patiently submit⟳ to the disagreeable consequences.”

“Comedy as satire is acceptable, as fun it is a pleasant haven of escape⟳, but the fairy tale of happiness ever after cannot be taken seriously; it belongs to the never-never land⟳ of childhood, which is protected from the realities that will become⟳ terribly known soon enough[.]”

“I've been living in a fairy tale since I met Joe.”

CEFR level