Martinha plucks her eyebrows to make herself even more pretty. in Tetun
Martinha fokit nia matan fulun para halo nia bonita liu tan.
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.
Comparison
liu — comparison 'more / most'
liuTetun comparison uses 'X liu Y' not 'mais X' — the adjective stays put and 'liu' follows. With a focus 'mak' it becomes superlative. Avoid Portuguese-style 'melhor' or 'mais boot'.
Intensifiers
Intensifiers (loos, tebes, demais, laduun)
liu tanPosition matters. 'loos' / 'tebes' / 'demais' follow the adjective ('barak loos' = very many). 'laduun' PRECEDES the adjective ('laduun diak' = not very good). 'liu tan' = even more.
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
- 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!
- Tia sikat ulsuku iha fuuk.Auntie stuck her hairpin through her hair.
- Loyola dada fuuk para atu halo been.Loyola pressed her hair to make it straight.
- Agora vida moris karun liu tan!Now the cost of living has gone up even more!
- Maria sateia hela de'it nia amá tanba osan.Maria keeps hassling her mother (to give her) money.
- Labarik ida tanis hakilar maka'as loos tanba nia mamá baku.A child cried very loudly because her mother hit her.