Don’t tease this person. If he loses his temper, he could beat you up. in Tetun
Ó keta goza ema ne'e, nia raan nakali ona bele baku ita.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
ona — 'already' (perfective)
onaPlaced after the verb (or after the object), 'ona' marks that something has already happened. Cannot stand alone — must belong to a sentence. See also 'tiha ona' for a stronger completed aspect.
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'.
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
- Ema ne'e matan mean, keta ranxu ho nia, se lae nia raan sa'e oho fali imi.This person is a murderer. Don't mix with him, or he could get angry and kill you.
- Fernando lakon iha fulan Janeiru 1998, no to'o agora nia família la hatene nia paradeiru.Fernando disappeared in January 1998. To date his family don't know his whereabouts.
- Mateus agora de'ut hela nia matan, tanba ai-luruk mak tama.Mateus is rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, because a prickle has gotten into his eye.
- Keta book asu. Asu bele tata ó.Don’t annoy the dog. It could bite you.
- Nia saláriu hakerek klaru iha kontratu laran.His salary is clearly written in his contract.
- Janio monu ho motor, nia ain tohar.Janio fell off his motorbike and broke his leg.