Don’t leave meat out, or lots of flies will gather around it. in Tetun
Na'an la bele rai iha li'ur, se lae lalar hobur barak tan de'it.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Conditionals
se / karik — conditionals
se'se' opens a definite conditional ('if X, then Y'). 'karik' sits at the end of a clause and hedges it ('perhaps'); it can also mark an uncertain conditional.
Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
laPlaced before verbs and adjectives to negate them. For contrastive 'not X but Y' use 'laós'; for 'not yet' use 'seidauk'; for 'no longer' wrap 'la ... ona' around the verb.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
beleTetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.
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
- La bele rai bisikleta iha li'ur tanba ferujen lalais.Don’t leave the bicycle outside, as it will rust quickly.
- La bele husik ha'u mesak iha ne'e.Don't leave me alone here.
- Ha'u nia rain Timor, ha'u sei la soe ó.My country Timor, I will never leave you.
- Ita la'o kalan, kuidadu rama ambon.If you go out at night, watch out for metal darts.
- Feto ne'e lori lia tuun sa'e. Keta ranxu nia.This lady likes to gossip. Don’t hang out with her.
- La bele fakar susu been iha ne'e, se lae sei konvida nehek mai.Don’t pour the milk here, or it will invite ants in.