This dog has lots of fleas! Don’t open the door for it to come inside. in Tetun
Asu ne'e kutun barak! Lalika loke odamatan para nia tama mai.
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.
Prohibition & permission
keta / lalika / la bele — prohibition
lalikaThree strengths of 'don't': 'lalika(n)' is softest — 'no need to, don't bother'. 'keta' is a direct prohibitive command. 'la bele' = 'not allowed, must not'.
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
- Loke odamatan lai.Open the door.
- Odamatan ne'e loke halo nusaa?How do you open this door?
- Odamatan nakloke ba ita boot sira hotu.The door is open to all of you.
- Ami haree asu nia ain fatin iha uma laran.We see dog footprints inside the house.
- Keta book asu. Asu bele tata ó.Don’t annoy the dog. It could bite you.
- Ha'u la iha modal para atu loke loja.I don’t have enough capital to open a shop.