This lady likes to gossip. Don’t hang out with her. in Tetun
Feto ne'e lori lia tuun sa'e. Keta ranxu nia.
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
ketaThree 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
- Mana ne'e oan na'in. Keta book!This lady already has children. Don't try to court her!
- 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!
- La bele ranxu ho ema lanu-teen sira. Se lae, ó mós bele sai lanu-teen hotu.Don’t hang out with the drunkards. Otherwise, you could become a drunkard too.
- Menina ne'e haluha prega butaun faru nian, halo ema hotu fihir nia.The young lady forgot to button up her shirt button, with the result that many people stared at her.
- 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.
- Tia sikat ulsuku iha fuuk.Auntie stuck her hairpin through her hair.