I turned to face Dad because he called me. in Tetun
Ha'u fila oin ba apá tanba nia bolu ha'u.
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.
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
- Feto ne'e oin aat loos. Nia presiza make-up para halo oin di'ak oituan.This woman has a very ugly face. She needs makeup to beautify her face a bit.
- Ita rezolve problema, di'ak liu ko'alia oin ho oin, la bele iha kotukotuk.When resolving problems, it's better to talk face to face, not behind people's backs.
- Maria hirus harahun nia telefone tanba telefone loke la lakan.Maria was angry and smashed her telephone, because when she turned it on it didn’t light up.
- Uluk ema respeitu ó tanba ó servisu ho onestu, maibé agora ó nia naran aat ona tanba ó na'ok.People used to respect of you because you worked honestly, but now you have a bad reputation because you stole.
- Apá mate ho klamar moos.Dad died with a clean heart.
- Avoo pai nia oin namkurut loos.Grandpa has a very wrinkled face.