Brothers and sisters should live far apart so that they keep missing each other. in Tetun
Maun-alin tenke hela dodook malu para saudades malu nafatin.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Reciprocal
malu — 'each other'
malu'malu' follows the verb to mark reciprocal action. Common in political / news idioms: 'haree malu diak' (get on well), 'diskuti malu' (argue), 'haan malu' (oppose one another), '(liafuan) la haan malu' (testimonies don't match).
Aspect markers
hela — 'currently' or 'reside'
helaAfter a verb, 'hela' marks continuous aspect ('is ...-ing'). As a standalone verb it means 'live, reside'. Often paired with 'sei' for 'is still ...-ing'.
More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.
Translate your own text with the free English ↔ Tetun translator or look up individual words in the Tetun dictionary.
Related phrases
- Sira hirus malu to'o ida-ida buka fatuk hodi tuda malu.They were angry at each other, to the extent that they each looked for rocks and threw them at each other.
- Sira hela dook hosi sidade.They live far from the city.
- Ami hotu hela bes-besik malu.We all live close to each other.
- Sira tuda malu ho fatuk, ha'u mak kona pankada.They were throwing stones at each other, but it was I who copped a blow.
- Sira hotu han to'o bosu. Han tiha, sira mós fahe malu.They all ate until they were satisfied. Having eaten, they went their separate ways.
- Ha'u nia viziñu sira baku malu tanba du'un malu buan.My neighbours had a fight because they accused each other’s (wives) of being witches.