Tetun Translator

You must strive to keep working and live without depending on other people for handouts. in Tetun

Imi tenke haka'as an nafatin hodi servisu no moris la bele tane liman de'it ba ema seluk.

English → Tetun phrasebook

Grammar in this phrase

Negation
la — 'not' (general negation)
la
Placed 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.
Possibility & probability
bele / parese / dala ruma / kala — possibility
bele
Tetun 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'.
Prohibition & permission
keta / lalika / la bele — prohibition
la bele
Three strengths of 'don't': 'lalika(n)' is softest — 'no need to, don't bother'. 'keta' is a direct prohibitive command. 'la bele' = 'not allowed, must not'.

More patterns like these in the Tetun grammar guide.

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