Uncle is castrating a lamb in the pen. sk in Tetun
Tiu kapa hela bibi oan ida iha nia luhan laran.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Aspect markers
hela — 'currently' or 'reside'
helaAfter a verb, 'hela' marks continuous aspect ('is ...-ing'). As a standalone verb it means 'live, reside'. Often paired with 'sei' for 'is still ...-ing'.
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.
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
- Tiu hamlaha ka?Are you ('uncle') hungry?
- Tiu Atoi hosi ne'ebé?Where is Uncle Atoi from?
- Tiu ne'e nia isin fulun mahar loos.Uncle has very thick body hair.
- Tiu kuandu nia hosu sempre tarutu.When uncle farts it’s always loud.
- Tia Martinha ne'e tiu Pedro nia kaben.Auntie Martinha is uncle Pedro’s wife.
- Tiu ohin buti manu nia kakorok hodi halo modo.Uncle strangled the chicken to cook it.