Tetun Translator
Full-sentence translation · native audio · INL + DIT
Translating something specific?
Translate English, Indonesian, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese to Tetun (Tetum)
Tetun Translator is a free online dictionary and translator for Tetun (also spelled “Tetum”), one of the two official languages of Timor-Leste. It is built for full sentences, not just single words, so the output reads more naturally than generic machine translation. Enter text above to translate English ↔ Tetun. Indonesian (bahasa inggris → tetun), Portuguese (português → tetun), Korean (한국어 → tetun), and Chinese (中文 → tetun) are also supported via our 22,000-entry glossary. No account needed, no paywall.
Tetun or Tetum — which spelling is correct?
Both spellings refer to the same language. Tetum is the Portuguese spelling used in official Timor-Leste government documents. Tetun is the orthography used by the Instituto Nacional de Linguística (INL) and the Dili Institute of Technology (DIT). Most modern academic and educational writing uses “Tetun.” This translator supports both spellings and both orthographic standards.
Common Tetun phrases
- Hello
- Olá
- Good morning
- Bondia
- Good afternoon
- Botardi
- Good evening
- Bonoiti
- How are you?
- Diak ka lae?
- I'm fine
- Ha'u diak
- Thank you
- Obrigadu / Obrigada
- You're welcome
- La buat ida
- Yes / No
- Sin / Lae
- Please
- Favór ida
- Sorry
- Deskulpa
- See you later
- Haree fali
- What is your name?
- Ita-nia naran saida?
- My name is…
- Ha'u-nia naran…
- I don't understand
- Ha'u la komprende
- How much?
- Hira?
Is there a Tetun app (aplikasi)?
This site works as a Progressive Web App. On mobile, add it to your home screen for quick offline access to the dictionary and grammar rules — on iOS use Safari’s Share menu, on Android use Chrome’s “Install app”. A native iOS and Android app is on the roadmap.
Data and sources
Translations are grounded in the 14,000-headword English–Tetun dictionary (tetun.org, Catharina Williams-van Klinken), DIT Justice Sector, Health & Medical and Tourism glossaries, the MADLAD-400 parallel corpus (43,000 sentences), and the INL Matadalan Ortográfiku — the official Timor-Leste government orthography (Decree 1/2004). Every translation is cross-checked against 47 lint rules for spelling and grammar accuracy.