God said to his children, “Don’t be afraid, as I am with you.” in Tetun
Maromak lia tuun ba nia oan sira dehan, “Keta ta'uk tan ha'u la'o ho imi.”
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.
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
- Tiu Domingos sempre rei nia oan ho nia kaben molok nia bá servisu.Uncle Domingos always kisses his children and his wife before leaving for work.
- Labarik barak la gosta halimar ho Pedro tanba nia atitude la di'ak.Lots of children don’t like playing with Pedro because his behaviour isn’t good.
- Pedro ateu ida, la fiar ba Maromak, maibé nia oan sarani hotu.Pedro is an atheist. He doesn't believe in God, but all his children are Christians.
- 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.
- Lalika ta'uk. Bá de'it!Don’t be afraid. Just go!