I don’t really trust that man. Just looking at his face we already know (he’s not trustworthy). in Tetun
Ha'u ladún konfia katuas ne'e, haree nia oin de'it mós ita hatene 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
- Fernando lakon iha fulan Janeiru 1998, no to'o agora nia família la hatene nia paradeiru.Fernando disappeared in January 1998. To date his family don't know his whereabouts.
- 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.
- Keta naran du'un ema karik ita la hatene problema ne'e nia lala'ok.Don’t arbitrarily accuse people if you don’t know the problem in-depth.
- Mestre ho mestra sira nia devér mak lori estudante atu hatene saida mak sira seidauk hatene.It is the duty of teachers to help their students to know things that they don’t yet know.
- Ha'u nia oan ne'e ne'e, hanesa ami mesak, ne'e nia ladún seda – ladún maña.My daughter here, like, when we’re alone, she’s not really you-know – not really demanding.
- Ó sorte di'ak, tanba foin remata ó nia estudu, hetan ona servisu.You're really fortunate, as you've only just finished your studies and have already got a job.