Earlier today I waited for you on campus, but you didn’t come quickly, so I went back home. in Tetun
Hori ohin ha'u hein ita iha kampus maibé la mai lalais, entaun ha'u fila fali ba uma.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
fali — 'again' / 'back' / 'instead'
faliPlaced after the verb. Can mean 'again / back' or mark an unexpected reversal ('instead'). Context decides which.
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.
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
- Maria ohin ku'u kafé, tau iha bote, haklulu hosi kafé laran mai to'o iha uma.Maria went and picked coffee today, put it in a basket, and carried it home from the coffee plantation on her back.
- Ohin Maria la mai servisu. Dala ruma nia moras.Today Maria didn’t come to work. Perhaps she is sick.
- Horiseik mestre la tama be ami fila sedu tiha.Yesterday the teacher didn't turn up, so we went home early.
- Ó bá fali uma!Go back home!
- Mai lalais!Come quickly!
- Aban ha'u sei mai fali.Tomorrow I will come back.