Breakdown of La stella brilla nel cielo di notte.
Questions & Answers about La stella brilla nel cielo di notte.
Brilla is the third person singular present indicative of the verb brillare (“to shine” or “to twinkle”). The present-tense conjugation is:
io brillo
tu brilli
lui/lei brilla
noi brilliamo
voi briliate
loro brillano
Here brilla means “it shines/twinkes,” with “it” referring to la stella.
Nel is the contracted form of in + il, so nel cielo literally means “in the sky.”
• You cannot say in il cielo because standard Italian contracts prepositions with articles (in + il → nel).
• You could omit the article and say in cielo in a very poetic or abstract sense (meaning “in sky” in general), but the normal phrasing is nel cielo.
Italian uses di before time-of-day expressions to mean “in/at”:
di mattina (“in the morning”), di pomeriggio (“in the afternoon”), di sera (“in the evening”), di notte (“at night”).
• Alla notte would literally mean “to the night” or “at the night” in other contexts, but it isn’t used for habitual time.
• Di notte emphasizes the general time when something happens.
Both brillare and splendere mean “to shine,” but with subtle differences:
• Brillare often implies a twinkling or sparkling effect (typical of stars).
• Splendere suggests a steady, more intense light (like the sun or a bright lamp).
Saying La stella splende nel cielo di notte is correct, but it paints the star as shining more steadily and brightly rather than twinkling.