Uncle Abel is a drinker, he has drunk since he was young. in Tetun
Tiu Abel hemu dór tua, dezde ki'ik kedas nia hemu.
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.
Time expressions
Temporal connectors
kedasCommon time words: 'bainhira / kuandu' = when; 'molok / antes' = before; 'depois' and 'liu tiha' = after; 'kedas' = immediately; 'foin' = only just, very recently; 'kleur' = a long time.
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
- Dezde ha'u sei ki'ik, ami hela iha Dili.We have lived in Dili since I was young.
- Joven kristaun sira tenke haklaken Liafuan Di'ak ba nia maluk joven ne'ebé seidauk koñese Na'i Jesus.Young Christians need to share the gospel with their fellow young people who don't know the Lord Jesus.
- Tiu hamlaha ka?Are you ('uncle') hungry?
- Tiu Atoi hosi ne'ebé?Where is Uncle Atoi from?
- Sé mak fó lanu ha'u nia oan ne'e?Who got my son/daughter drunk?
- Tiu ne'e nia isin fulun mahar loos.Uncle has very thick body hair.