Oh dear! I met Luna only yesterday, and now I hear she is very sick in hospital. in Tetun
Kuitadu! Ha'u foin hasoru malu horiseik ho Luna, agora rona fali nia moras todan baixa iha ospitál.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
fali — 'again' / 'back' / 'instead'
faliPlaced after the verb. Can mean 'again / back' or mark an unexpected reversal ('instead'). Context decides which.
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.
Reciprocal
malu — 'each other'
malu'malu' follows the verb to mark reciprocal action. Common in political / news idioms: 'haree malu diak' (get on well), 'diskuti malu' (argue), 'haan malu' (oppose one another), '(liafuan) la haan malu' (testimonies don't match).
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
- Ha'u haree ó oin kamutis loos ne'e. Ó moras karik?I see you face is very pale. Are you sick?
- Ha'u nia oan moras. Favór ida lori ba ospitál.My child is sick. Please take (him/her) to hospital.
- Ó baruk ona ga? - Hei saa. Ha'u baruk sá!Are you sick of it? - Yes indeed. I'm sick of it hey!
- Baibain ami fó han asu oan ne'e ho na'an de'it, agora nia sai kabosu loos.We usually feed our puppy meat, now it is very chubby.
- Mana Nina horiseik tuur ahi, bebé kaduak iha ospitál boot.Nina yesterday gave birth to twins in the big hospital.
- Kuitadu! Besi sira foin hola ne'e mesak meak de'it.Oh dear! The metal we've only just bought is all rusty.