Have you just arrived, or been here a while? in Tetun
Ó foin mai ka, mai horihorin ona?
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.
Time expressions
Temporal connectors
foinCommon time words: 'bainhira / kuandu' = when; 'molok / antes' = before; 'depois' and 'liu tiha' = after; 'kedas' = immediately; 'foin' = only just, very recently; 'kleur' = a long time.
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
- Miguel ne'e matan foun iha rai ne'e, keta lori nia la'o arbiru.Miguel is a newcomer here, so don’t take him just anywhere.
- Ó tuur hanesan bos de'it, la hatene halo servisu, hein han de'it!You're just sitting there like a boss, not working, just waiting to be fed!
- La bele haree de'it aspetu ida hodi ignora aspetu sira seluk ne'ebé mak importante liu.Don't just look at this one aspect while ignoring other aspects which are more important.
- Inan-aman hanorin la rona ta'uk mak la'o sala dalan de'it.Parents educating you but when you don’t pay attention just be careful just be careful that you don’t go astray.
- Lei ne'e hetan ona aprovasaun hosi Parlamantu Nasionál. Agora hein de'it lori ba Prezidente da Repúblika atu promulga ka veta.This law has been approved by the National Parliament. Now it just needs to be taken to the President of the Republic to either promulgate or veto.
- Ita nia diretór foin rezigna an atu sai fali ministru. Nune'e ita presiza foti fali ema seluk sai diretór definitivu, la bele foti reitór interinu de'it.Our director has just resigned to become a government minister. So we must appoint someone else as permanent director, not just as an acting director.