To test seeds of sandalwood, soak them in water. The seeds that sink, this means they are good. in Tetun
Atu koko fini ai-kameli nian, hoban ba bee. Fini ne'ebé mout, ne'e kerdizer di'ak.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Possession
nia / nian — possession
nian'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.
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
- Neras ne'e ó kose ka, hoban de'it iha omu been foti ba habai ona?!Did you scrub the nappies, or just soak them in soapy water and then take them out to dry?
- Sira hotu han to'o bosu. Han tiha, sira mós fahe malu.They all ate until they were satisfied. Having eaten, they went their separate ways.
- Sira hirus malu to'o ida-ida buka fatuk hodi tuda malu.They were angry at each other, to the extent that they each looked for rocks and threw them at each other.
- Sira ne'e oportunista de'it. Uluk rai susar, sira halai sai ba rai li'ur, maibé agora sira mai fali buka pozisaun iha governu.They are just opportunists. In the past when it was hard, they fled overseas, but now they have come back seeking positions in the government.
- Sira deteta fraude liu hosi audit.They detected fraud by means of an audit.
- Ha'u espera katak ha'u bele hasoru fali sira iha kondisaun ne'ebé saudavel.I hope I can again meet them in good health.