I have to get a (new/renewed) passport, because in two months time I'm hoping to go overseas. in Tetun
Ha'u tenke trata ha'u nia pasaporte lai, tanba fulan rua tan ha'u atu ba rai li'ur.
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.
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
- Mestre hanorin full-time ka part-time?Does the teacher teach full-time or part-time?
- La bele hirus beibeik; se lae, ferik lailais.Don’t get angry all the time; otherwise you’ll grow old quickly.
- Bá fanu lalais Anoo, tanba besik ona tempu atu bá eskola.Go quickly and wake Anoo, because it’s almost time to go to school.
- Ami te'in uitoan-uitoan de'it, tanba hahán la to'o.We only cooked a little at a time, because there was not enough food.
- Ha'u lakon tempu barak bá kursu, maibé la aprende buat ida.I have wasted time so much time attending a course, but didn’t learn anything.
- Ha'u soe ha'u nia telefone tanba se lae halimar game demais.I threw out my telephone because otherwise I'd spend too much time playing games.