Don't play with the lighter! The flame could burn your eyes! in Tetun
Keta halimar iskeiru! Ahi lakan bele kona ó nia matan!
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.
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'.
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
- Keta book asu. Asu bele tata ó.Don’t annoy the dog. It could bite you.
- La bele la'o ain tanan, se lae ain bele kanek.Don’t walk barefoot, or you could cut your foot.
- La bele hanaruk tan sira nia kontratu, tanba sira servisu la di'ak!Don't extend their contract, because they don't work well!
- Ó keta goza ema ne'e, nia raan nakali ona bele baku ita.Don’t tease this person. If he loses his temper, he could beat you up.
- Keta naran du'un ema karik ita la hatene problema ne'e nia lala'ok.Don’t arbitrarily accuse people if you don’t know the problem in-depth.
- La bele ranxu ho ema lanu-teen sira. Se lae, ó mós bele sai lanu-teen hotu.Don’t hang out with the drunkards. Otherwise, you could become a drunkard too.