He’s young in years, but already large in body. in Tetun
Nia tinan ki'ik, maibé isin boot 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.
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.
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
- Ó nia tinan foin sanulu resin lima, hatene ona namora ne'e.You are only fifteen years old, but you already know about dating.
- Joven kristaun sira tenke haklaken Liafuan Di'ak ba nia maluk joven ne'ebé seidauk koñese Na'i Jesus.Young Christians need to share the gospel with their fellow young people who don't know the Lord Jesus.
- Ha'u kumu amá nia isin ne'ebé moras.I massage mum’s aching body.
- Keta sira selu tiha ona.Unless they have already paid.
- Tiu ne'e nia isin fulun mahar loos.Uncle has very thick body hair.
- Ha'u boot liu nia lori tinan neen.I am six years older than he is.