This medicine is very dangerous, don't drink it! in Tetun
Ai-moruk ne'e perigu loos, la bele hemu.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Intensifiers
Intensifiers (loos, tebes, demais, laduun)
loosPosition matters. 'loos' / 'tebes' / 'demais' follow the adjective ('barak loos' = very many). 'laduun' PRECEDES the adjective ('laduun diak' = not very good). 'liu tan' = even more.
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
- Ha'u ladún gosta ida ne'e.I don’t like this one very much.
- Liaun ne'ebá si'ak loos. Keta bá hamriik besik.That lion is very fierce. Don’t stand near it.
- Ema ne'e sensitivu loos, ne'ebé keta ba book nia.This person is very sensitive. Don’t hassle him.
- La bele taka janela tanba rai manas loos.Don’t close the windows because the weather is very hot.
- La bele hanaruk tan sira nia kontratu, tanba sira servisu la di'ak!Don't extend their contract, because they don't work well!
- Iha ne'e rai lolon maka'as, kuidadu keta monu.Here the slope is very steep. So be careful you don’t fall.