One of my female friends committed suicide because her husband took another wife. in Tetun
Ha'u nia kolega feto ida oho an tanba nia la'en hola fali feto seluk.
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.
Aspect markers
fali — 'again' / 'back' / 'instead'
faliPlaced after the verb. Can mean 'again / back' or mark an unexpected reversal ('instead'). Context decides which.
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
- Labarik ida tanis hakilar maka'as loos tanba nia mamá baku.A child cried very loudly because her mother hit her.
- Maria halo grupu estudu iha ninia uma hamutuk ho nia kolega sira.Maria has started a study group at her house together with her friends.
- 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 sa'e mikrolét hiti de'it nia subriña tanba ema nakonu.Auntie got into the minibus and held her niece on her lap because the minibus was full of people.
- Nia kaben tiha ida, bá kait fali ida seluk. To'o ikus feto na'in rua baku malu tanba nia!He'd already married one, then went and too another as his mistress. In the end the two women fought because of him!
- Ko'us labarik keta doko demais, se lae nia bele mura tanba nia foin han bosu loos.When cuddling this infant don't shake her too much, else she might burp up her milk, because she's just had a big feed.