Tiger is a very savage animal. People mustn’t come close to it. in Tetun
Tigre animál ne'ebé si'ak loos, ema la bele besik.
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
- Kuandu ema hala'o edukasaun sívika, sira hanorin povu kona ba lia polítiku nian, no mós kona ba direitu no responsabilidade reinu nian, atu foti povu nia konsiénsia polítiku.When people conduct civic education, they teach the people about political affairs, and also about the rights and responsibilities of the people, to raise their political awareness.
- Ita-Boot nia uma besik loos ha'u nian.Your house is very close to mine.
- Nia hela besik loos eskola DIT.She lives very close to DIT school.
- Ema nia favór, ita la bele haluha.We mustn't forget people's kindness (to us).
- Sira ta'uk loos, purké ema lori kro'at.They were very afraid, as people were carrying arms.
- La bele taka janela tanba rai manas loos.Don’t close the windows because the weather is very hot.