Catholic prayers and faith phrases in Tetun
Timor-Leste is one of the most Catholic countries in the world, and faith runs through everyday Tetun. This page collects the core prayer and church vocabulary — how to say God (Maromak), to pray (reza), the Rosary (tersu), Mass (misa) and church (igreja) — alongside real example sentences from the Tetun corpus.
The full canonical prayers (the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed) follow the wording approved by the Diocese of Dili. To translate your own text or look up a specific verse, use the translator above or browse the dictionary.
Words about God and faith
Timor-Leste is overwhelmingly Catholic, and most religious vocabulary in Tetun comes from Portuguese. These are the core words you will hear in church and in everyday faith life.
- Maromak / Na'i Maromak
- God
- Na'i
- the Lord
- Jesus Kristu
- Jesus Christ
- Espíritu Santu
- the Holy Spirit
- Nosa Señora / Virjen Maria
- Our Lady / the Virgin Mary
- santu sira
- the saints
- lalehan
- heaven
- fé / fiar
- faith / to believe
- Kruz
- the Cross
- bensaun
- a blessing
- Amén
- Amen
Prayer and the Rosary
“Reza” is the everyday verb for praying; “orasaun” is a prayer. The Rosary — a central devotion in Timor-Leste, especially at the Comoro grotto in Dili — is the tersu (from Portuguese terço).
- reza
- to pray
- orasaun
- a prayer
- tersu / rozáriu
- the Rosary
- reza tersu
- to pray the Rosary
- adora
- to worship
- hakne'ak
- to kneel
- Loraik ema sempre vizita gruta Nosa Señora iha Comoro hodi reza.
- In the afternoons people always visit the shrine of Our Lady in Comoro to pray.
- Loroloron iha tuku lima loraik, amu ho sarani sira reza iha gruta Comoro.
- Every day at five o’clock the priest and lay Christians pray at the Comoro grotto.
Church, Mass and the priest
Sunday Mass (misa) is the centre of community life. A priest is padre or, respectfully, amu; lay Catholics are sarani.
- igreja
- church
- misa
- Mass
- padre / amu
- priest
- sarani
- lay Christian(s)
- koru
- the choir
- fó sarani
- to baptise / christen
- Kada loron Sesta Foska sira hamoos igreja.
- Every Friday the Foska members clean the church.
- Semana ne'e ami kala-kalan ensaiu tanba Domingu oin ami nia koru mak kanta.
- This week we have choir practice every evening, because next Sunday our choir is singing.
Praising and trusting God
Common devotional expressions, taken from the Tetun corpus, that show how praise, worship and trust in God are phrased naturally.
- Maromak domin na'in.
- God is love.
- Maromak ne'e huun no rohan-laek.
- God has no beginning and no end.
- Ita nia destinu iha Maromak nia liman.
- Our destiny is in God’s hands.
- Maromak nia domin kle'an be kle'an, aas be aas.
- God’s love is incredibly deep, incredibly high.
- Mai ita hahi'i Na'i Maromak hodi foti aas Nia naran santu.
- Let’s praise the Lord God and exalt His holy name.
- Mai ita hakne'ak hodi adora Na'i Maromak tanba Nia mak ita nia Liurai Boot.
- Let’s kneel to worship the Lord God, because He is our Great King.
- Mai ita hahi'i Na'i Maromak, tanba Nia laran di'ak teb-tebes.
- Let’s praise the Lord God, because His goodness is truly great.
- Oinsá ita nia fé ba Maromak?
- How is your faith in God?
More Tetun phrases
See the traveler phrasebook for greetings, directions, restaurant and emergency phrases, or open the full translator for anything else.