The village head said, “You’d better hide for a while, as the militia are looking for you.” So the, we did as he said. in Tetun
Xefe aldeia dehan, “Diak liu imi subar lai, tanba milísia buka hela imi.” Nune'e prontu, ami mós halo tuir.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
hela — 'currently' or 'reside'
helaAfter a verb, 'hela' marks continuous aspect ('is ...-ing'). As a standalone verb it means 'live, reside'. Often paired with 'sei' for 'is still ...-ing'.
Aspect markers
lai — 'first' / polite request
laiAfter the verb or object, 'lai' means 'first, for a moment' — often softens a request by implying the action won't last long.
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'.
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
- Sr. Rui na'in mak kandidata nia an rasik ba xefe suku Lospalos nian.Mr Rui nominated himself as candidate for village head of Lospalos.
- Xefe suku mak sai implementadór ba projetu ne'e.It is the village head who will be the one who implements this project.
- Feto ne'e nia matan kle'uk. Nia haree hela ita maibé ita hanoin kala haree buat seluk.This girl is cross-eyed. She is looking at us, but we think perhaps she’s looking at something else.
- Ha'u ma hatete.I was the one who said (that).
- Manu avestrús ne'e, nia subar nia ulun de'it.Ostriches just hide their heads.
- Ó foin mai ka, mai horihorin ona?Have you just arrived, or been here a while?