Don't keep going to this person's house. He's a trouble-maker! in Tetun
Keta bá beibeik ema ne'e nia uma, nia buka problema dór mak ne'e!
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Possession
nia / nian — possession
nia'nia' goes BEFORE the thing possessed; 'nian' goes AFTER. Both function the same way; position decides which form. 'nia' is also the 3rd-person pronoun (he / she / it) — disambiguate by position.
Focus
mak — focus marker
mak'mak' focuses the preceding constituent — used when English would bold or cleft ('it was X who...'). Also forms the superlative with 'liu'.
Prohibition & permission
keta / lalika / la bele — prohibition
ketaThree strengths of 'don't': 'lalika(n)' is softest — 'no need to, don't bother'. 'keta' is a direct prohibitive command. 'la bele' = 'not allowed, must not'.
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
- Kontínua la'o bá oin maski iha susar nia laran.Keep going ahead even when it is difficult.
- Ema ne'e sensitivu loos, ne'ebé keta ba book nia.This person is very sensitive. Don’t hassle him.
- Ami atu sosa rai pedasuk ida atu halo uma.We are going to buy a plot of land to build a house.
- Ha'u bá rega aifunan iha uma oin.I am going to water the flower in front of the house.
- Sees hosi ha'u nia uma! Ha'u la gosta haree ó nia oin.Get away from my house! I don’t like to see your face.
- Ami aluga uma tanba la iha osan atu sosa.We rent a house because we don’t have money to buy one.