I lent my motorbike to a friend so she could give her younger brother/sister a lift to hospital. in Tetun
Ha'u fó empresta motór ba ha'u nia kolega atu nia bele tula nia alin ba ospitál.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
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.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
beleTetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.
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
- Alin, ó bá ne'ebé?'Younger brother/sister', where are you going?
- Alin, orsida ó halo saida?'Younger brother/sister', what are you doing later?
- Maria sateia hela de'it nia amá tanba osan.Maria keeps hassling her mother (to give her) money.
- Alin tinan hira? - Ha'u tinan neen.How old are you ('younger brother/sister')? - I'm six.
- Tia ne'e du'un matak de'it ha'u nia alin mak na'ok nia osan.Auntie unfairly accused my younger sister of stealing her money.
- Nia namoradu ne'e hais nia to'o lima sén mós la iha nia isin!Her boyfriend bled her dry till she didn't even have five cents left on her!