Albanian to English

You sure did! Much, very much, has become clear! flit=whisper, that line about giving strength, the 'sic di zemer vetem ti'-thing, and the business about drying, well, everything! I'm very, very grateful. I was touched by this song even before I understood a single word. And I'm not disappointed now that I understand the whole thing. It's truly heartbreaking.

Now I must repay my debts. Unfortunately, Dutch is not very much in demand, but I can always try my hand at someFrench lyrics.

Well, I'm glad I could help you! No pay back needed! Hope you continue to enjoy Albanian music!

Originally Posted by Balkaneuro

Well, I'm glad I could help you! No pay back needed! Hope you continue to enjoy Albanian music!

I sure will! Albanian music is the best discovery I made in many many years.

In the spirit of that old saw (you know: translate a song to someone, and he is happy for a day, teach him some Albanian, and he is happy each day of his life), I have two more questions about this text.

1) if I read 'shpirt', should I translate it as 'soul', or 'heart', or are the two interchangeable (I refer to the second line of the lyric)

2) I understood the seperate words of line 2 of the refrain, but failed to turn them into a sentence. As I realise now because of that 'ti'-word (dot ti mbaj). I presumed that 'ti' alway refered to the second person (you). Could you elaborate on the function of 'ti' in this part of the sentence?

I realise that this kind of questions may very well lead too very elaborate answers, and if that is the case, just pretend I didn't ask them. You already did more than I hoped for. (You are Albanian nr. 3 that I asked for help with this song)

Originally Posted by cortom

I sure will! Albanian music is the best discovery I made in many many years.

In the spirit of that old saw (you know: translate a song to someone, and he is happy for a day, teach him some Albanian, and he is happy each day of his life), I have two more questions about this text.

1) if I read 'shpirt', should I translate it as 'soul', or 'heart', or are the two interchangeable (I refer to the second line of the lyric)

2) I understood the seperate words of line 2 of the refrain, but failed to turn them into a sentence. As I realise now because of that 'ti'-word (dot ti mbaj). I presumed that 'ti' alway refered to the second person (you). Could you elaborate on the function of 'ti' in this part of the sentence?

I realise that this kind of questions may very well lead too very elaborate answers, and if that is the case, just pretend I didn't ask them. You already did more than I hoped for. (You are Albanian nr. 3 that I asked for help with this song)

1) Shpirt literally means soul, however, it is, in many cases interchangeable. For example the exact lyrics are: "vret zemer dhe ha ndonje shpirt" an exact translation of this would be "it kills the Heart and eats the Soul" however "soul " is more spirit-like therefore in this case it would make more sense to use "heart" as in it eats away the heart an actual part of us. I hope that makes sense.

2)You are correct "ti" does mean you, however, when speaking English for example if we say "he went to the library" in Albanian it would be "vajti ne biblioteke". That sentence is five words, in Albanian only three. So my point here is that, the pronoun is like joined with the verb. So ok now back to your question. "Do ti mbaj" i believe is slang, because of the fact. In past tense it would be "I mbajta" Do means will, without the T infront of the I which refers to ones self. as in i will do something. However when you use "do"(will) you must use te after it. So properly it should be "Do te ti mbaj lotet" which means I will hold Your tears" However, if you just take out te it makes it refering to yourself I believe. "te" means "of" however in many cases it changes depending on the sentence. So "Do ti mbaj" is like I'll hold" and "Do te ti mbaj" "I will hold" Thats the best I can do at explaining that sentence. Sorry if it is confusing which i'm sure it is as I re-read my explanation! I know its difficult to understand why it is using "ti" when ti means "you" but the best way i can explain that is it is kind of saying "I will hold back the tears (caused from your actions) !? "Lotet do ti mbaj" I will hold back the tears "Lotet do te ti mbaj" I will hold back your tears. Not as in you are crying but as in the tears you have been responsible for. Hope I helped!

@Balkaneuro: thanks again. I just love Albanian. Cannot explain why. In part because of all those beautiful songs. But the language in itself attracts me too.

@everyone: now that I discovered this wonderful forum, I might as well use it. As a rule I'm not wild about Ciljeta's songs. But this one is superb. Anyone willing to translate in English? I marked the parts that I'm most interested in.

Ciljeta - Do do ti do

Ti nuk e din ta kuptosh një zemër
ti nuk e din ta fitosh nje femër
ti nuk e din se dhe unë po vuaj
ti nuk e din, ti je bër për mua i huaj
më ke tradhtuar po po
të kam duruar po po
keshtu mbaruam po po
ti dil nga jeta ime
të kam bësuar po po
shum ka duruar po po
ti dil nga jeta ime tani

Ref.Do do ti do me zemër kërkon të luash
një gjë mëso sa keç zemër do të vuash
do do ti do me zemër kërkon te tallesh
një gjë mëso një femër ti të bën të falesh (2x)

Shkoni te teksteshqip.com se i ka te gjitha tekstet

Ciljeta - Do do ti do

Ti nuk e din ta kuptosh një zemër
you don't know how to understand one(this) heart
ti nuk e din ta fitosh nje femër
you don't know how to win a girl (over)
ti nuk e din se dhe unë po vuaj
you don't know why I also suffer
ti nuk e din, ti je bër për mua i huaj
you dont know, that you have become a stranger to me
më ke tradhtuar po po
you have betrayed me, oh oh
të kam duruar po po
i have withstaded it, oh oh
keshtu mbaruam po po
this is how we ended(our relationship) oh oh
ti dil nga jeta ime
get out of my life
të kam bësuar po po
i have beleived you, oh oh
shum kam duruar po po
i have withstanded a lot
ti dil nga jeta ime tani
get out of my life now

Ref.Do do ti do me zemër kërkon të luash
you want to, your asking(wanting) to play with (this) heart
një gjë mëso sa keç zemër do të vuash
learn this one thing, you will suffer very much sweetheart
do do ti do me zemër kërkon te tallesh
you want to, your asking(wanting) to mock (this) heart
një gjë mëso një femër ti të bën të falesh (2x)
learn this one ting, this one girl makes you pray

when i use asking and wanting as almost one thing i'm just trying to explain that when you say in albanian "kerkon te ___" its translation in english is like "your asking for it" but in albanian it means more sense with want.

when they use po, po i don't know if she's saying "yes, yes " which is Po in Albanian or if she is greiving, which it seemed like it is. Many languages in the Balkans e.x. albanian, greek etc. uses the term "O Po Po" which shows greving in a way as in "O no no" "Oh" etc. I don't know any other way to explain that.

Thanks again, Balkaneuro, you are wonderful! It all makes sense now.
I completely misunderstood the 'ti dil nga jeta ime' part (thought 'jeta' was a form of 'jam', although I knew it to mean 'life' already), and I never understood - till now - the meanings of 'tallesh' and 'falesh'. 'Një femër' in the sense of 'this girl' is also very illuminating. I thought it was indefinite ('some girl').

Strange to think that - as a student - I didn't like foreign language courses, while now I find it more exciting then any other puzzle.

When I come across a song that really gets at me, I want to know what it's about. I have this online Albanian dictionary that I consult a lot. Sometimes I don't find the word I'm looking for, like when the text contains spelling errors, or when a verb or noun is used in inflected form. Then I have to guess, and sometimes I get the meaning all wrong. Even if I find all the words, the meaning of the sentence as a whole may still be unclear. But I'm learning (vèèrry slowly).

Speaking about spelling errors, could it be that the lyric of Ndarja should start with 'Sphirt ime thyhet ...' in stead of 'Shpirti me thyhet ...'?

I am glad you are learning so quickly, you seem very hard working Haha some of your questions I really have to think about!
It is "Shpirti me thyhet" Shpirt = soul. The reason for this is because it is not "ime" but rather "më" "ime" meaning my, which is why you were probably confused, and "më" doesn't have an exact meaning, it is another version of "mua" "myself" but you use it when your describe that you yourself are either doing something or something is happening to you. For example if you say "shpirti më thyhet" it means "my heart breaks" and then it could be used for soemthing totally differnet as "më falni" "Forgive me/ I'm sorry". I hope i made that clear for you. Also continue to enjoy languages, they are a beautiful thing. I am happy to see so many people enjoying the Albanian language

Here I am again. It's all Teuta's fault: why can't she sing in English, like everybody else?

I know, it's a stupid joke, and I don't mean it. Please keep singing in Albanian, Teuta. The language seems like music by itself. Never the less, I would like a translation:

Teuta Selimi - Pi raki
==============

Në vetmi këndoj nga halli
shum për ty moj m'ka mor malli
në këtë mbrëmje përplot
mall e mërzi

Si ti them unë shokvë
t'mi si ta ndal unë
lotin tim në ket
mbrëmje që m'kë lënë ti n'vetmi

Ditët tona përkujtohën
si flet zemra me shpalohet
në gjum t'rënd dua të bi
të jem me ty

[ref:2x]
Pi raki e këndoj për ty
tym duhanit dhimbjet
po i shkri jo se m'dhemb
të gjith e din
t'gjith e din thash e din se më mungon ti

Shikimi yt më përcjell gjithkund
mir e din që tash t'kam humb
t'kisha sonte një her
e t'mbaj në gji

Asgjë tjetër s'deshiroj
vetëm vetën ta helmoj
jetën pa ty smundem
ta jetoj

Ditët tona [..]
[...] ty

[ref:2x]

Pi Raki
Drink Raki

Në vetmi këndoj nga halli
I only sing out of worry
shum për ty moj m'ka mor malli
..i miss you a lot ?
në këtë mbrëmje përplot
in this night full of
mall e mërzi
yearning and sadnes (mall = miss)

Si ti them unë shokvë t'mi
How do i tell my friends
si ta ndal unë
how do i stop
lotin tim në ket mbrëmje
my tears in this night
që m'kë lënë ti n'vetmi
that you've left me alone

Ditët tona përkujtohën
Our days are remembered?
si flet zemra me shpalohet
how my heart speaks it .. (shpalohet?)
në gjum t'rënd dua të bi
i want to fall in a deep sleep
të jem me ty
to be with you

[ref:2x]
Pi raki e këndoj për ty
Drink raki and sing for you
tym duhanit dhimbjet po i shkri
Tobacco (cig.) smoke melting the pain (melting the pain LIKE smoke)
jo se m'dhemb
not that it hurts
të gjith e din
everyone knows
t'gjith e din thash e din se më mungon ti
everyone knows, now they know that i miss you (mungon = absent/not here)

Shikimi yt më përcjell gjithkund
your look takes (accompanies) me everywhere
mir e din që tash t'kam humb
know very well ive lost you
t'kisha sonte një her
to have you tonight one more time
e t'mbaj në gji
and to hold you on my chest?

Asgjë tjetër s'deshiroj
I dont wish/want anything else
vetëm vetën ta helmoj
only to poison myself
jetën pa ty smundem ta jetoj
can't live life without you


Maybe Balkaneuro can help with the ones i missed

Originally Posted by Balkaneuro

[...]The reason for this is because it is not "ime" but rather "më" "ime" meaning my, which is why you were probably confused, [,,,]I hope i made that clear for you. [...] I am happy to see so many people enjoying the Albanian language

Yes, I understand. 'Më' is a reflexive pronoun. We use it in Dutch too. By coïncidence it's even the same word, but written as 'me'. You could use exactly the same construction (het hart breekt me = (lit.) the heart breaks to myself) and you would be understood, although no one here would phrase this sentence in that particular way. If I understand it right, when I said 'shpirt ime thyhet...' shpirt would be subject (performing the action of breaking something else) and an Albanian would feel an object is missing in the sentence. While the suffix -i causes shpirt to assume the role of object.

@Corsair: thank you very much. I still miss some fine points, but much has become clear. I found 'unfold' as a meaning for 'shpalohet', but I'm not sure how this fits in the sentence.

Drink Raki
-----------Drink Brandy
Në vetmi këndoj nga halli
I only sing out of worry
shum për ty moj m'ka mor malli
..i miss you a lot ? --------- I long for you very much
në këtë mbrëmje përplot
in this night full of
mall e mërzi
yearning and sadnes (mall = miss)

Si ti them unë shokvë t'mi
How do i tell my friends
si ta ndal unë
how do i stop
lotin tim në ket mbrëmje
my tears in this night
që m'kë lënë ti n'vetmi
that you've left me alone

Ditët tona përkujtohën
Our days are remembered? ------ I remember our days together
si flet zemra me shpalohet
how my heart speaks it .. (shpalohet?) ------ how my heart speaks it now (falls apart)
në gjum t'rënd dua të bi
i want to fall in a deep sleep
të jem me ty
to be with you

[ref:2x]
Pi raki e këndoj për ty
Drink raki and sing for you
tym duhanit dhimbjet po i shkri
Tobacco (cig.) smoke melting the pain (melting the pain LIKE smoke)
jo se m'dhemb
not that it hurts
të gjith e din
everyone knows
t'gjith e din thash e din se më mungon ti
everyone knows, now they know that i miss you (mungon = absent/not here)

Shikimi yt më përcjell gjithkund
your look takes (accompanies) me everywhere
mir e din që tash t'kam humb
know very well ive lost you
t'kisha sonte një her
to have you tonight one more time
e t'mbaj në gji
and to hold you on my chest?--- sort of like to say "to hold you close" samething practically
Asgjë tjetër s'deshiroj
I dont wish/want anything else
vetëm vetën ta helmoj
only to poison myself
jetën pa ty smundem ta jetoj
can't live life without you


good translation Korcare

Hey..i have just heard one song..Qou Rxhoo from Shpati.It sound to me like folklor..but i can not find text.If you can,translate it for me.
Thank you

Oh boy, this one seems more complicated than the other two.

1: në vetmi: 'I alone ...' (lit. in loneliness) or 'I just sing ...'?
2: më ka mor malli: 'I long for you' or 'I have longed for you' (Past tense?)
3: 'si ti them ...': can 'ti' also refer to the plural form of the second person? Or is 'shokvë' a singular form?
4: the construction 'ta + verb' is used several times. Is this how an infinitive is formed in Albanian (like 'to + verb' in English)? I have wondered about this before.
5: what does 'shpalohet' mean, literally?
6: Pi raki: 'Drink raki' as an imperative or 'I drink raki' as a statement?
7: I still don't understand the 'tym duhanit dhimbjet po i shkri' part. 'tym duhanit'= 'smoke from tobacco', that right? Is 'dhimbjet' a substantive? Or a verb? What person (1st, 2nd, 3d) is 'shkri'? I would guess 1st person (I melt).
8: 'jo se më dhemb'='because it hurts me'?
9: is it 'thash' or 'tash' (now).

The whole refrain still is somewhat mysterious to me.

10: 'mirë e din': thought this was 2nd person (it is good you know?), but I seem to be mistaken. Does it mean 'it is good I know', or do I still misunderstand?

11: 'një gji'='at my bosom'?
12: 'ta helmoj', that poisoning thing, could I take that to mean 'get drunk'?
13: 'jetën'='jeta' in the role of object of the sentence? Is that right?

I know, I know, I should pay you guys. You are so helpfull. I think I can learn a lot from this text. I realise that what I really need, more than a dictionary, is a good grammar.

I realise too how difficult a good translation really is. Make it too literal and the meaning is unclear. But make it too free and the poetry is lost. HOW it is said is so much more important here than WHAT is said (because not much is ever said in lovesongs).

1: ne vetmi means: alone, in loneliness
2: me ka mar malli (per ty) is past tense: "I have missed you" me merr malli (per ty) is present " i miss you/long for you"
3: shkove is singular, and yes ti can be plural
4: yes, for example ta marr - to take, te shkoj, to go
5. it means to unfold, or deploy however it is using it harshly in the song i believe i guess trying to be descriptive in some way. I do not know how else to explain that. For example to say my heart unfolds in pieces, would not be something you would say instead of my heart breaks in pieces.
6: I drink raki, but in Albanian you dont have to put I in front for it to be understood that you are talking about yourself, it's like saying "drinking raki" I think. if you are refering to a single person you can say "pi raki" drink raki or plural "pini raki"
7: dhimbjet means pains, dhimbje means pain. shkri is first person but it doesn't mean "I melt", it means "melts" if you want to say I melt you say Shkrihem" In the setence it is saying "the tobacco smoke melts my pains"
8: "no, because it hurts" se is "cuz" sepse is "because"
9 "Tash" means now, "Tani" means now too, but they are different dialects
10. "mire e din" means "you know(it) well" "A e din nese eshte mire?" means (you know if its good?) "E di qe mire eshte" means i know it is good
11. that is literally what it means.
12. nope, helmoj means poision. E.x. "qelizat te mi helmoj" "to poision my cells." To say drunk it is "i/e pire" or "i/e dehur" i became drunk "u deha"
13: yes that is correct. "kaloje jeten me gezim" "live/pass your life with happiness"

wooo props Balkaneuro je i madh
and props to you Cortom for being so interested, good to see.

Çou mor Rexho dil te lama,
Darsem t'madhe pot ban nana,
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
Çou ma i miri i nanes oh se s'ka nana tjeter oh
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
Çou ma i miri i nanes oh se s'ka nana tjeter oh


Oh mor At tu thaft Jela,
Qysh ma mbyte Rexhen n'shqelma,
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
Çou sokol o i nanes o se ska nana tjeter o,
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
Çou ma i miri i nanes oh se s'ka nana tjeter oh

Po vin krushqit o rethit malit,
Rexha i vdekur o ne grazhd te kalit,
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
Çou delia i nanes o se ska nana tjeter o,
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
Çou ma i miri i nanes oh se s'ka nana tjeter oh

Oh mor krushqi hani-pini,
Neser Rexhen ne dhe t'ma shtini,
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
Çou delia i nanes o se ska nana tjeter o,
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
Çou ma i miri i nanes oh se s'ka nana tjeter oh.

Thax,sweety,but i do not really think,that i can traslate it myself .
Finaly...i found a book albanian grammar in my university...i so happy

Çou mor Rexho dil te lama,
get up oh Rexho, come out to the light
Darsem t'madhe pot ban nana,
Your mom is making a big wedding for you
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
get up Rexho, get up young man
Çou ma i miri i nanes oh se s'ka nana tjeter oh
Get up, you who are mom's best(son) because mom doesn't have another oh
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
get up Rexho, get up young son
Çou ma i miri i nanes oh se s'ka nana tjeter oh
get up, you who are mom's best(son) because mom doesn't have another oh


Oh mor At tu thaft Jela,
oh you, horse, let your wind go dry (cursing the horse)
Qysh ma mbyte Rexhen n'shqelma,
How you chocked Rexho you stepped on him
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
get up Rexho, get up young man
Çou sokol o i nanes o se ska nana tjeter o,
get up mom's falcon, because mom doesn't have another o
*k when it says mom's falcon , it means as if his mom would call him sokol growing up, just like sayin my little sweetiepie or something but it means falcon

Po vin krushqit o rethit malit,
the marraige arrangers are coming around the mountain
Rexha i vdekur o ne grazhd te kalit,
Rexha is dead, between the horse
Çou Rexho çou djalo,
get up Rexho, get up young son

Oh mor krushqi hani-pini,
O you part of the marriage eat and drink
Neser Rexhen ne dhe t'ma shtini,
Tomorrow you shall ly my Rexho in the soil


In an Albanian wedding the krushqi are the people who come to the guy and then they go get the bride at her house, there made up of a bunch of close relatives, a band and a religious affiliate. I hope that makes sense.

This is a folk song about a story in which Rexho a very young man, was getting ready for his wedding and he died the day of his wedding because he had an accident with a horse and he stepped on him i think and choked him somehow. So it is supposed to be very sad and sorrowful.