This woman is talking rubbish. Perhaps she’s crazy. in Tetun
Ema nia inan ne'e ko'alia arbiru de'it, nia keta bulak karik.
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.
Conditionals
se / karik — conditionals
karik'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.
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
- Di'ak ida nia mai, di'ak ida la mai.Perhaps he'll come, perhaps he won't.
- Labarik ne'e bulak uitoan karik, tanba ha'u haree nia ko'alia arbiru de'it.This child might be a bit crazy, as I notice he just talks rubbish.
- Bá foti kaixa mamuk mai, ita tau fo'er lori bá fakar iha lixu fatin.Go get the empty box so that we can put the rubbish in and take it to dump the rubbish in the dump.
- Tia ko'alia ho sé?Who is aunt talking with?
- Ó neon la iha, labarik ki'ikoan mós ó baku!You're crazy, you even hit little children!
- Ko'alia ho nia, kuidadu! Nia ne'e fanátiku ida.Be careful talking with him! He's a fanatic.