My friend, you should cut your long fingernails. Otherwise people will think that you are a witch/wizard. in Tetun
Kolega, ó nia liman kukun naruk ne'e tesi tiha. Se lae ema hanoin ó buan.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Conditionals
se / karik — conditionals
se'se' opens a definite conditional ('if X, then Y'). 'karik' sits at the end of a clause and hedges it ('perhaps'); it can also mark an uncertain conditional.
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
- Di'ak liu eskalda tiha na'an ne'e mak lori ba Dili, se lae bele dois.You should scald the meat before taking it to Dili, otherwise it will go smelly.
- La bele tunu fehuk kleur liu iha ahi, se la bele motuk hotu.Don’t roast the potatoes on the fire for too long, otherwise they will all be burnt.
- Ema barak mate. Iha mós ema kanek na'in hitu mak ami konsege lori ba ospitál, maski dook.Many people died. There were also seven injured people whom we managed to take to hospital, even though it was a long way.
- Kuandu ema hala'o edukasaun sívika, sira hanorin povu kona ba lia polítiku nian, no mós kona ba direitu no responsabilidade reinu nian, atu foti povu nia konsiénsia polítiku.When people conduct civic education, they teach the people about political affairs, and also about the rights and responsibilities of the people, to raise their political awareness.
- Ha'u hanoin, di'ak liu imi mai hela iha Timor de'it.I think you should just come and live in Timor.
- Ema Atauro bahat ai sai estátua ema ne'ebé furak loos.Atauro people carve wood into beautiful statues of people.