My mother has four children, I’m the youngest. in Tetun
Ha'u nia inan iha oan na'in haat, ha'u mak ikun.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Focus
mak — focus marker
mak'mak' focuses the preceding constituent — used when English would bold or cleft ('it was X who...'). Also forms the superlative with 'liu'.
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
- Ami nia inan rasik mate kleur ona, nune'e ami nia inan hakiak mak tau matan ba ami.Our own mother died a long time ago, so it is our adoptive mother who looks after us.
- Labarik barak moras malária. Ne'e duni husu ba inan-aman atu uza muskiteiru ba labarik sira.Many children are sick with malaria. Therefore we appeal to parents to use mosquito nets for the children.
- Ami hasoru labarik na'in rua iha ne'ebá.We met two children there.
- Sira nia ekipa manán kuatru - zero.Their team won four - zero.
- Ami nia asu hahoris asu oan haat.Our dog gave birth to four puppies.
- Votasaun remata tuku haat.The voting finished at four o’clock.