When he quarrelled with his wife, he smashed everything in the house. in Tetun
Nia istória malu ho nia feen, nia baku rahun sasán uma laran nian hotu.
English → Tetun phrasebook
Grammar in this phrase
Possession
nia / nian — possession
nianian'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.
Reciprocal
malu — 'each other'
malu'malu' follows the verb to mark reciprocal action. Common in political / news idioms: 'haree malu diak' (get on well), 'diskuti malu' (argue), 'haan malu' (oppose one another), '(liafuan) la haan malu' (testimonies don't match).
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 Domingos sempre rei nia oan ho nia kaben molok nia bá servisu.Uncle Domingos always kisses his children and his wife before leaving for work.
- Mateus agora de'ut hela nia matan, tanba ai-luruk mak tama.Mateus is rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, because a prickle has gotten into his eye.
- Nia saláriu hakerek klaru iha kontratu laran.His salary is clearly written in his contract.
- Janio monu ho motor, nia ain tohar.Janio fell off his motorbike and broke his leg.
- Lita: Nia naran António ka? Ina: Lae, nia naran José.Lita: Is his name António? Ina: No, his name is José.
- António gaba nia ferik oan tanba nia te'in midar loos.António praised his wife because she cooked a tasty meal.