Tetun
Tetum
Austronesian (Central Malayo-Polynesian)
Tetum (Tetun) is one of two co-official languages of Timor-Leste alongside Portuguese, since 2002 independence. The capital-area variety "Tetun-Praça" of Dili is heavily Portuguese-influenced and is the de-facto national lingua franca for Timor's 32+ indigenous languages, while "Tetun-Terik" of the south coast retains a more conservative Austronesian core. Central Malayo-Polynesian Austronesian, closely related to Galoli, Wetar, and Idate. Has SVO word order, no grammatical gender, no inflection on nouns or verbs (relying on auxiliaries and aspect particles), and distinctive personal-pronoun cliticization. Latin script using Portuguese-influenced orthography standardized 2004 by the Instituto Nacional de Linguística (INL). Bible translation completed 2011; widely used in church, education, and broadcasting.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Tetum
Water
bee
/beː/
Fire
ahi
/ahi/
Sun
loron
/loɾon/
Moon
fulan
/fulan/
Mother
inan
/inan/
Father
aman
/aman/
Eat
han
/han/
Drink
hemu
/hemu/
Love
domin
/domin/
Heart
fuan
/fuan/
Tree
ai
/ai/
House
uma
/uma/
Dog
asu
/asu/
Cat
busa
/busa/
Hand
liman
/liman/
Eye
matan
/matan/
Hello
bondia
/bondia/
Thank you
obrigadu
/obɾiɡadu/
One
ida
/ida/
Good
di'ak
/diʔak/
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian (Central Malayo-Polynesian) languages
| Meaning | Tetum | Maranao | Atoni | Batak Angkola | Motu | Old Tagalog | Toba Batak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | bee /beː/ | ig /iɡ/ | oe /oe/ | aek /aek/ | ranu /ɾanu/ | ᜆᜓᜊᜒᜄ᜔ /tubiɡ/ | aek /aek/ |
| Fire | ahi /ahi/ | apoy /apoj/ | ai /ai/ | api /api/ | lahi /lahi/ | ᜀᜉᜓᜌ᜔ /apuj/ | api /api/ |
| Sun | loron /loɾon/ | alongan /aloŋan/ | manas /manas/ | ari /ari/ | dina /dina/ | ᜀᜇᜏ᜔ /araw/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ |
| Moon | fulan /fulan/ | bolan /bolan/ | fun /fun/ | bulan /bulan/ | hua /hua/ | ᜊᜓᜏᜈ᜔ /buwan/ | bulan /bulan/ |
| Mother | inan /inan/ | ina /ina/ | ainat /ainat/ | inang /inaŋ/ | sinana /sinana/ | ᜁᜈ /ina/ | ina /ina/ |
| Father | aman /aman/ | ama /ama/ | amat /amat/ | amang /amaŋ/ | tamana /tamana/ | ᜀᜋ /ama/ | ama /ama/ |
| Eat | han /han/ | mangan /maŋan/ | ah /ah/ | mangan /maŋan/ | aniani /aniani/ | ᜃᜁᜈ᜔ /kain/ | mangan /maŋan/ |
| Drink | hemu /hemu/ | minom /minom/ | ninu /ninu/ | minum /minum/ | inuinu /inuinu/ | ᜁᜈᜓᜋ᜔ /inom/ | minum /minum/ |
| Love | domin /domin/ | kalimo /kalimo/ | nekat /nekat/ | holong /holoŋ/ | lalokau /lalokau/ | ᜁᜊᜒᜄ᜔ /ibiɡ/ | holong /holoŋ/ |
| Heart | fuan /fuan/ | pusoʔ /pusoʔ/ | nesa /nesa/ | roha /roha/ | kudouna /kudouna/ | ᜉᜓᜐᜓ /puso/ | roha /roha/ |
| Tree | ai /ai/ | kayo /kajo/ | hau /hau/ | hayu /haju/ | au /au/ | ᜃᜑᜓᜌ᜔ /kahoj/ | hau /hau/ |
| House | uma /uma/ | walay /walaj/ | ume /ume/ | bagas /baɡas/ | ruma /ɾuma/ | ᜊᜑᜌ᜔ /bahaj/ | jabu /dʒabu/ |
| Dog | asu /asu/ | aso /aso/ | asu /asu/ | asu /asu/ | sisia /sisia/ | ᜀᜐᜓ /aso/ | biang /biaŋ/ |
| Cat | busa /busa/ | pusa /pusa/ | mose /mose/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | gosi /ɡosi/ | ᜉᜓᜐ /pusa/ | huting /hutiŋ/ |
| Hand | liman /liman/ | lima /lima/ | ʼniman /ʔniman/ | tangan /taŋan/ | imana /imana/ | ᜃᜋᜌ᜔ /kamaj/ | tangan /taŋan/ |
| Eye | matan /matan/ | mata /mata/ | matan /matan/ | mata /mata/ | matana /matana/ | ᜋᜆ /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hello | bondia /bondia/ | kapian /kapijan/ | neut /neut/ | horas /horas/ | namo gida /namo ɡida/ | ᜋᜊᜓᜑᜌ᜔ /mabuhaj/ | horas /horas/ |
| Thank you | obrigadu /obɾiɡadu/ | salamat /salamat/ | neno biluk /neno biluk/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | oi namo /oi namo/ | ᜐᜎᜋᜆ᜔ /salamat/ | mauliate /mauliate/ |
| One | ida /ida/ | isa /isa/ | mese /mese/ | sada /sada/ | ta /ta/ | ᜁᜐ /isa/ | sada /sada/ |
| Good | di'ak /diʔak/ | mapia /mapija/ | malaek /malaek/ | denggan /deŋːan/ | namo /namo/ | ᜋᜊᜓᜆᜒ /mabuti/ | denggan /deŋɡan/ |
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