We mustn't forget people's kindness (to us). in Tetun
Ema nia favór, ita la bele haluha.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
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.
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
- 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.
- Ema Atauro bahat ai sai estátua ema ne'ebé furak loos.Atauro people carve wood into beautiful statues of people.
- Ema tama mate nabanaban, to'o uma laran ema nakonu.People just kept coming in, until the house was full of people.
- Tigre animál ne'ebé si'ak loos, ema la bele besik.Tiger is a very savage animal. People mustn’t come close to it.
- Ema boot servisu iha parlamentu, balu han matak povu nia osan.Some senior people who work in the parliament swindle the people of their money.
- Dezastre iha Baucau foin dadaun ne'e rezulta ema na'in rua mate, ema na'in haat kanek, í uma barak aat.The recent disaster in Baucau resulted in two people dying, and four people being injured.