Senatola

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10 October 2026 · from German · 8 sentences

Do You Know How Many Stars

Source: Wilhelm Hey (1837), original text (public domain), from de.wikipedia.org (“Weißt du, wie viel Sternlein stehen”). The version sung today (“Sternlein”) differs slightly.

Literal: PL = ma, Q = ka, PST = po, NEAR = hi, ALSO = mo, ADV = adverb ending. Compounds with hyphens.

Whole text in one piece

ka tu rike, de duvu ka buva fale di goka besi? ka tu rike, de duvu ka dola nube lipo he bida nali? lavema toge po ma lo, su nomu tama vufale fu lo ko duva nali biri. ka tu rike, de duvu ka vemisa lufe di rida lumi sela? ka tu rike, de duvu ka fokisa vuridene lo luti di nima lumi? lavema senafase po meba ma lo, su nalu lo gole po va vela, su ma lo duvu hi bale di lusa hi. ka tu rike, de duvu ka pina bamapime bofo ko femotisa lo luti? ma lo bale sa venela su goma ru nupa. lavema je fale di goka bale di tama nalu lo. lo rike tu mo, su lo nile tu.

Weißt du, wie viel Sterne stehen an dem blauen Himmelszelt? Weißt du, wie viel Wolken gehen weithin über alle Welt? Gott der Herr hat sie gezählet, daß ihm auch nicht eines fehlet an der ganzen großen Zahl. Weißt du, wie viel Mücklein spielen in der hellen Sonnenglut? Wie viel Fischlein auch sich kühlen in der hellen Wasserflut? Gott der Herr rief sie mit Namen, daß sie all ins Leben kamen, daß sie nun so fröhlich sind. Weißt du, wie viel Kinder frühe stehn aus ihren Bettlein auf, daß sie ohne Sorg und Mühe fröhlich sind im Tageslauf? Gott im Himmel hat an allen seine Lust, sein Wohlgefallen, kennt auch dich und hat dich lieb.

Do you know how many stars there are in the blue tent of heaven? Do you know how many clouds travel far and wide over all the world? God the Lord has counted them, so that not one of them is missing from the whole great number. Do you know how many little gnats play in the bright glow of the sun? How many little fish cool themselves in the bright water too? God the Lord called them by name, so that they all came into life, so that they are now so happy. Do you know how many children get up early from their little beds, so that they are cheerful through the day without care or toil? God in heaven has his joy and his pleasure in them all, knows you too and loves you.

Sentence by sentence (8 sentences)

Verse 1

ka tu rike, de duvu ka buva fale di goka besi?

Q you know, that quantity Q star be-located in sky blue?

Weißt du, wie viel Sterne stehen an dem blauen Himmelszelt?

Do you know how many stars there are in the blue tent of heaven?

Notes (3)
  • “Do you know how many …?” = ka at the start + an indirect question with duvu ka in the de clause. This is exactly the construction from 04-grammatik.md (“Do you know which …?”).
  • po for what God has done; otherwise no time word.
  • “Tent of heaven” = goka (sky).

Verse 1

ka tu rike, de duvu ka dola nube lipo he bida nali?

Q you know, that quantity Q cloud go far-ADV on world whole?

Weißt du, wie viel Wolken gehen weithin über alle Welt?

Do you know how many clouds travel far and wide over all the world?

Notes (1)
  • “Over all the world” = he bida nali (over the whole world). nalu bida would mean “over every world”.

Verse 1

lavema toge po ma lo, su nomu tama vufale fu lo ko duva nali biri.

God count PST PL it, and zero thing be-missing for he from quantity whole big

Gott der Herr hat sie gezählet, daß ihm auch nicht eines fehlet an der ganzen großen Zahl.

God the Lord has counted them, so that not one of them is missing from the whole great number.

Notes (2)
  • “Not one” = nomu tama (nothing).
  • “Number” = duva (quantity); nali and biri both refer to duva.

Verse 2

ka tu rike, de duvu ka vemisa lufe di rida lumi sela?

Q you know, that quantity Q animal-small play in warmth bright sun?

Weißt du, wie viel Mücklein spielen in der hellen Sonnenglut?

Do you know how many little gnats play in the bright glow of the sun?

Notes (2)
  • “Little gnats” = vemisa (insect; vem + -is-).
  • “Glow of the sun” = rida sela (warmth of the sun); lumi stands in between and does not count in the chain.

Verse 2

ka tu rike, de duvu ka fokisa vuridene lo luti di nima lumi?

Q you know, that quantity Q fish-small cold-make it self in water bright?

Wie viel Fischlein auch sich kühlen in der hellen Wasserflut?

How many little fish cool themselves in the bright water too?

Notes (3)
  • Hey leaves out “Do you know” here. In Senatola the sentence needs it: a ka after a word without a de clause would be a direct question asking for a number as the answer.
  • “Cool themselves” = vuridene lo luti (cold + -en-). The quantity applies to each single fish, so lo luti.
  • “Too” is left out.

Verse 2

lavema senafase po meba ma lo, su nalu lo gole po va vela, su ma lo duvu hi bale di lusa hi.

God call PST name PL it, and all it come PST to life, and PL it quantity NEAR glad-be in time NEAR

Gott der Herr rief sie mit Namen, daß sie all ins Leben kamen, daß sie nun so fröhlich sind.

God the Lord called them by name, so that they all came into life, so that they are now so happy.

Notes (4)
  • “Call by name” = senafase meba ma lo (call their names).
  • “Come into life” = gole va vela, literally as in Hey.
  • “All” = nalu lo: the quantity word comes before the person word as before a noun.
  • “So happy” = duvu hi bale (be this much glad); the quantity word comes before the verb like pulu in lo pulu vupile.

Verse 3

ka tu rike, de duvu ka pina bamapime bofo ko femotisa lo luti? ma lo bale sa venela su goma ru nupa.

Q you know, that quantity Q child get-up early-ADV from sleep-object-small it self? PL it glad-be without worry and difficulty through day

Weißt du, wie viel Kinder frühe stehn aus ihren Bettlein auf, daß sie ohne Sorg und Mühe fröhlich sind im Tageslauf?

Do you know how many children get up early from their little beds, so that they are cheerful through the day without care or toil?

Notes (4)
  • femotisa lo luti: each child gets up out of its own little bed.
  • The “so that” clause has become a statement of its own. Attached with su, it would belong to the de clause and so to the question.
  • sa applies to both nouns joined with su. “Toil” = goma (difficulty).
  • “Through the day” = ru nupa (ru + time noun = duration).

Verse 3

lavema je fale di goka bale di tama nalu lo. lo rike tu mo, su lo nile tu.

God who be-located in sky glad-be in matter all it. he know you ALSO, and he love you

Gott im Himmel hat an allen seine Lust, sein Wohlgefallen, kennt auch dich und hat dich lieb.

God in heaven has his joy and his pleasure in them all, knows you too and loves you.

Notes (3)
  • “God in heaven” as a relative clause: lavema di goka would not work, because a prepositional phrase belongs to the whole sentence. The relative clause on the subject ends at the verb bale.
  • “Have joy and pleasure in” = be glad about (bale di tama).
  • “Knows you too” = rike tu mo; mo comes after tu. “Know a person” and “know a fact” are one idea (rike).