We keep our money in the bank. We can go and take it out when we need it. in Tetun
Ami nia osan rai iha banku. Ami presiza mak bele bá foti.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Focus
mak — focus marker
mak'mak' focuses the preceding constituent — used when English would bold or cleft ('it was X who...'). Also forms the superlative with 'liu'.
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.
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
- Ha'u tenke rai osan iha banku ba futuru nian.I need to save money in the bank for the future.
- Ha'u rai ha'u nia osan iha Banku Nasionál Timor-Leste.I keep my money in the National Bank of Timor-Leste.
- Foti na'an iha konjeladór atu orsida ita sona ba han meiudia.Take meat out of the freezer so we can fry it later for lunch.
- Ita presiza hatene kada fulan osan sai hira ba pulsa eletrisidade nian.We need to know how much money goes out for electricity every month.
- Karik ita maneja osan ho di'ak, ita bele uza sinkuenta dolar to'o fulan ida.If we manage our money properly, we can use fifty dollars for a month.
- Ita presiza uma provizóriu ida atu hela to'o ita bele harii ita nia uma rasik.We need a temporary house to stay in until we can build our own house.