I am shopping for a sack of rice in the Chinese shop, come and transport it home. in Tetun
Ha'u kompras hela foos karoon ida iha loja Xina nian, mai tula bá uma lai.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
hela — 'currently' or 'reside'
helaAfter a verb, 'hela' marks continuous aspect ('is ...-ing'). As a standalone verb it means 'live, reside'. Often paired with 'sei' for 'is still ...-ing'.
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.
Possession
nia / nian — possession
nian'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
- Iha uma ha'u iha foos saka ida. Kuandu ha'u hamlaha ha'u te'in para han.At home I have a sack of rice. When I’m hungry, I will cook it to eat.
- Laho tata kuak hotu foos karoon laran, foos fakar sai hotu.A rat has eaten holes in the rice sack, so now the rice has all spilled out.
- Lori karoon mai para ita tau foos rai lori bá uma te'in.Bring me the sack so that we can fill it up with local rice to bring home to cook.
- Tia dulas hare uza mákina.Auntie mills rice in a (rice) mill.
- Ha'u enxe hare ba saku.I fill a sack with (unhusked) rice.
- Maria bá hamoos hare ne'ebé iha kabubu laran.Maria went to weed the rice that in the rice bay.