This girl is cross-eyed. She is looking at us, but we think perhaps she’s looking at something else. in Tetun
Feto ne'e nia matan kle'uk. Nia haree hela ita maibé ita hanoin kala haree buat 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
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'.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
kalaTetun 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
- Di'ak ida nia mai, di'ak ida la mai.Perhaps he'll come, perhaps he won't.
- Pedro haree feto ida oin di'ak loos, no gosta namora ho nia.Pedro saw a good-looking girl and wants to date her.
- Atoi fihir feto ida tanba nia gosta atu sai nia doben.Atoi is looking intently at a girl because he’d like her to become his girlfriend.
- Menina ne'e para bonita!This girl is a stunner!
- Keta book. Ne'e ema nian.Don't touch it. It's someone else's.
- Ita hatene ema ruma buka uma atu aluga ka?Do you know anyone looking for a house to rent?