Jina is a very diligent person. She works hard from morning to night. in Tetun
Jina ema ida ne'ebé badinas loos, nia servisu maka'as, dadeer to'o kalan.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Intensifiers
Intensifiers (loos, tebes, demais, laduun)
loosPosition matters. 'loos' / 'tebes' / 'demais' follow the adjective ('barak loos' = very many). 'laduun' PRECEDES the adjective ('laduun diak' = not very good). 'liu tan' = even more.
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
- Sé mak servisu badinas, nia hetan bonus.Whoever works hard will get a bonus.
- Ha'u nia kareta Pajero nia mudansa toos loos.The gear of my Pajero car is very hard.
- Iha Maubisse malirin para mate iha dadeer-saan.In Maubisse is very cold in the early morning.
- Ema ne'e sensitivu loos, ne'ebé keta ba book nia.This person is very sensitive. Don’t hassle him.
- Bis hosi Dili ba Maliana baibain sai madrugada.The bus from Dili to Maliana usually leaves very early in the morning.
- Ha'u nia kakorok moras loos, tanba hori kalan toba sala tiha.My neck is very stiff because last night I slept on an awkward position.