Hey, you rotter! Can't you even go and get my betel pepper?! in Tetun
Hoi, rai han ida nenee! Bá hola lai ha'u nia malus la bele ga?!
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
lai — 'first' / polite request
laiAfter the verb or object, 'lai' means 'first, for a moment' — often softens a request by implying the action won't last long.
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.
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
- Tia homan mama fatin para atu tau nia bua malus iha laran.Auntie wove a betel container to keep her betel nut and betel pepper in.
- Ha'u sosa lai malus futun ida para bele look ferik sira.I'll buy a bundle of betel pepper leaves so that I can offer betel nut to the old ladies.
- Ha'u espera katak tinan oin ami bele kaben.I hope that next year we can get married.
- Oinsá mak ita bele hetan osan atu selu eskola?How can we get money to pay for schooling?
- Nusaa ó inkomoda loos ha'u ne'e!? Agora atu servisu mós la di'ak!Why are you bothering me so much!? Now I can’t even work!
- Oinsá mak ita bele hala'o kresimentu ekonómiku hodi halo redusaun pobreza iha Timor-Leste?How can we get economic growth and reduce poverty in Timor-Leste?