Stir-fry the vegetables only til they are al dente, don't let them get too soft! in Tetun
Fila modo mat-matak de'it, la bele halo dodok liu!
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Comparison
liu — comparison 'more / most'
liuTetun comparison uses 'X liu Y' not 'mais X' — the adjective stays put and 'liu' follows. With a focus 'mak' it becomes superlative. Avoid Portuguese-style 'melhor' or 'mais boot'.
Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
laPlaced before verbs and adjectives to negate them. For contrastive 'not X but Y' use 'laós'; for 'not yet' use 'seidauk'; for 'no longer' wrap 'la ... ona' around the verb.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
beleTetun hedges less than English, but has a cluster of markers. 'bele' before the verb = can / may. 'parese' at the start = 'seems'. 'dala ruma' at the start of a clause = 'perhaps, sometimes'. 'kala / kal' before a number = 'approximately'.
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
- La bele hanaruk tan sira nia kontratu, tanba sira servisu la di'ak!Don't extend their contract, because they don't work well!
- Programa ne'e foin versaun beta, keta fiar demais!This program is only the beta version, don't trust it too much!
- Sira somente lori formuláriu mai de'it, ema seluk mak prienxe.They only brought forms, it was other people who filled them in.
- 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.
- Sira hotu han to'o bosu. Han tiha, sira mós fahe malu.They all ate until they were satisfied. Having eaten, they went their separate ways.
- Sira na'in rua nia oan boot ona mak foin kaben igreja.Only once their children were no longer small did the two of them get married in church.