This person is a murderer. Don't mix with him, or he could get angry and kill you. in Tetun
Ema ne'e matan mean, keta ranxu ho nia, se lae nia raan sa'e oho fali imi.
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
fali — 'again' / 'back' / 'instead'
faliPlaced after the verb. Can mean 'again / back' or mark an unexpected reversal ('instead'). Context decides which.
Conditionals
se / karik — conditionals
se'se' opens a definite conditional ('if X, then Y'). 'karik' sits at the end of a clause and hedges it ('perhaps'); it can also mark an uncertain conditional.
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
- Ema ne'e sensitivu loos, ne'ebé keta ba book nia.This person is very sensitive. Don’t hassle him.
- La bele hirus beibeik; se lae, ferik lailais.Don’t get angry all the time; otherwise you’ll grow old quickly.
- Ó keta goza ema ne'e, nia raan nakali ona bele baku ita.Don’t tease this person. If he loses his temper, he could beat you up.
- Tanba saa mak nia bele hirus lalais?Why does she get angry so fast?
- Ne'e ha'u nia sala. Keta fó todan ba nia!It was my fault. Don't blame him!
- Atoy ema ida ne'ebé bosok-teen. Keta fiar nia!Atoy is a liar. Don’t believe him!