I am in lots of debt (to others). in Tetun
Ha'u iha tusan barak liu. = Ha'u nia tusan barak liu.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Comparison
liu — comparison 'more / most'
liuTetun comparison uses 'X liu Y' not 'mais X' — the adjective stays put and 'liu' follows. With a focus 'mak' it becomes superlative. Avoid Portuguese-style 'melhor' or 'mais boot'.
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
- Maria para debe dór! Nia gosta debe tuun debe sa'e.Maria's such a borrower! She's always going into debt to others.
- Ha'u bá hotu.I went too (with the others).
- Ha'u haree manu knuuk iha ai-leten barak.I see lots of nests in the tree.
- Haree ba leten, kalohan mutin barak loos.Look up, there are lots of white clouds.
- Ita hotu hakarak moris iha dame nia laran.We all want to live in peace (with others)
- Ami dada rifa iha Telkomsel atu hetan premiu.We drew lots at Telkomcel to get an award.