| Latvian song | Free translation | Word-for-word translation |
|---|---|---|
| Tec rikšus kumeliņi Neej soļus skaitīdams; Vai es tevim auzas devu Pa vienai skaitīdams? Es tev devu tīras auzas Saulē pļautu aboliņu. | Run a little faster, steed of mine Don't count your steps out one by one. Did I count your oats that way? No, I gave you purest oats, Clover reaped on a sunny day. | run-2nd.p.sg.imp. a-cantering pony-dim.voc.sg.-i not-go-2nd.p.sg.imp step-acc.pl. count-pres.pple.act.masc.nom.sg. whether I-nom.1st.p.sg. you-2nd.p.sg.dat. oats-acc.pl. give-pst.1st.p.sg. by one-dat.sg. count-pres.pple.act.masc.nom.sg. I-nom.1st.p.sg. you-2nd.p.sg.dat. give-pst.1st.p.sg. pure-fem.acc.pl. oats-acc.pl. sun-loc.sg. reap-sup. clover-dim.acc.sg. |
| Uzliksim saimniekam Ozoliņa vainadziņu, Lai aug viņa kumeliņi Ozoliņa resnumiņu. |
Let's put a wreath of oakleaves On the farmer's head So his steeds grow big and fat Like the oak tree does. |
on-put-fut.1st.p.pl. farmer-dat.sg. oak-tree-dim.gen.sg. wreath-dim.acc.sg. so-that grow-pres.3rd.p. his-masc.gen.sg. pony-dim.nom.pl. oak-tree-dim.gen.sg. fatness-dim.acc.sg. |
| Es piesēju kumeliņu Pie ziedotas ābelītes. Apbierst mans kumeļš Ar ābeļu ziediņiem; Jāju sievu lūkoties Ar ziedotu kumeliņu. | I tied my steed to a Flowering apple tree. My steed was blanketed With apple blossoms; I rode out on my blossom-covered steed I rode out looking for a wife. |
I-1st.p.sg.nom. tie-to-pst.1st.p.sg. pony-dim.acc.sg. at bloom-pple.pst.pass.gen.sg. apple-tree-dim.gen.sg. about-scatter-pres.3rd.p. my-masc.nom.sg. pony-nom.sg. with apple-tree-gen.pl. blossom-dim.dat.pl. ride-pst.1st.p.sg. wife-acc.sg. look-for-ppl.indecl.refl. with bloom-pple.pst.pass.acc.sg. pony-dim.acc.sg. |
| Vaicā sētas saiminieks Vai ir visi kumeliņi. Vilks apēda kumeliņu Ar visiem nadziņiem. | The farmer asks, he wants to know Are all the horses accounted for. A wolf has eaten up one horse Eaten it up, hooves and all. | inquire-pres.3rd.p. farmyard-gen.sg. master-nom.sg. whether be-pres.3rd.p. all-masc.nom.pl. pony-dim.nom.pl. wolf-nom.sg. up-eat-pst.3rd.p. pony-dim.acc.sg. with all-masc.dat.pl. nail/hoof-dim.dat.pl. |
| Tumša nakts, zaļa zāle Laukā laidu kumeliņu. Tur palika zaļa zāle Vilks apēda kumeliņu. | The night was dark, the grass was green I let my horse out to graze. In the morning the grass remained, But a wolf had eaten up my horse. | dark-fem.nom.sg. night-nom.sg. green-fem.nom.sg. grass-nom.sg. field-loc.sg. let-pst.1st.p.sg. pony-dim.acc.sg. there stay-past.3rd.p. green-fem.nom.sg. grass-nom.sg. wolf-nom.sg. up-eat-pst.3rd.p. pony-dim.acc.sg. |
To see the explanation of the grammatical abbreviations used in the "word-for-word" translations, go to → Grammatical Abbreviations
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Last revised September 19, 2008