Every day he does chin-ups in the door to make his biceps big. in Tetun
Nia dadeer-dadeer tabele iha odamatan para liman kabun bele boot.
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'.
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
- Ha'u nia maun loroloron hi'it besi, í agora nia brasu loos.My older brother lifts weights every day, and now has big biceps.
- Armando loroloron gosta badiu ho nia kolega sira, halo nia inan-aman hirus.Armando likes to hang around with his mates every day, which angers his parents.
- Ha'u nia alin nia ain kabun boot loos tanba loroloron nia halai hela de'it.My younger brother has big calves because he runs every day.
- 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.
- Maun Tom hakarak halimar frisbee loroloron.Tom wants to play frisbee every day.
- Ha'u loroloron matabixu tuku hitu.Every day I eat breakfast at seven o’clock.