My mother’s way of teaching us at home is to speak calmly. in Tetun
Ha'u nia amá nia maneira hanorin ami uma laran mak ko'alia ho kalma.
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.
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'.
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
- Tenke ko'alia sukat ibun, la bele ko'alia tuir ó nia hakarak.You must weigh up your words. Don’t just speak as you want to speak.
- 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.
- Banhira ami la'o dook, ami nia amá sempre fó hanoin ami atu lori bukae.When we are going to travel a long way, our mother always reminds us to bring food for the journey.
- Ó bá fali uma!Go back home!
- Ha'u hakarak bá uma.I want to go home.
- Favór ida, ko'alia Tetun.Please, speak Tetun.