Animals

1. Asu

   Dog

   Usage

   They run loose in villages; a male dog is "asu aman"

2. Busa

   Cat

   Usage

   Found around markets and eateries

3. Fahi

   Pig

   Usage

   Central to ceremony — served at weddings and funerals

4. Manu

   Chicken / bird

   Usage

   Covers poultry and birds alike; "manu fuik" is a wild bird, "manu aman" a rooster

5. Manu rade

   Duck

   Usage

   Kept beside the rice paddies

6. Karau

   Water buffalo

   Usage

   Also "karau timor". In Timor-Leste it is wealth and bride price; the horns decorate house roofs

7. Karau inan

   Cow

   Usage

   Literally "mother karau"; used for cattle

8. Bibi timor

   Goat

   Usage

   Literally "Timor bibi"; goat meat is "naan bibi"

9. Bibi malae

   Sheep

   Usage

   Literally "foreign bibi" — "malae" means foreign

10. Kuda

    Horse

    Usage

    Still used as a pack animal in the mountains

11. Rusa

    Deer

    Usage

    The Timor deer; also "bibi rusa"

12. Lekirauk

    Monkey

    Usage

    You can meet a troop on mountain roads — do not leave your bag open

13. Ikan

    Fish

    Usage

    A staple at markets and eateries; to fish is "tiha"

14. Kadiuk

    Crab

    Usage

    Do not use "kankru" — that Portuguese loan means cancer, not crab

15. Boek

    Prawn / shrimp

    Usage

    Shrimp paste is "balixaun"

16. Tuna

    Eel

    Usage

    Found in rivers; this is not the fish called tuna in English

17. Lenuk

    Turtle

    Usage

    Sea turtles are protected; do not buy shell souvenirs

18. Lafaek

    Crocodile

    Usage

    Saltwater crocodiles are real here and do kill people. In the founding legend the island itself is a crocodile, so treat the word with respect

19. Samea

    Snake

    Usage

    Do not use Indonesian "ular" — in Tetun that word means worm

20. Ular

    Worm

    Usage

    In Indonesian this means snake, but in Tetun it means worm — a false friend worth knowing

21. Teki

    Gecko

    Usage

    Named after its call; they run across guesthouse walls. It has a colloquial sense for people, so keep it to the animal

22. Laho

    Rat / mouse

    Usage

    One word for both rats and mice

23. Niki

    Bat / flying fox

    Usage

    Includes fruit bats; they fly at dusk

24. Susuk

    Mosquito

    Usage

    Carries dengue and malaria. A mosquito net is "moskiteiru", a coil is "piveti"

25. Barata

    Cockroach

    Usage

    From Portuguese

26. Nehek

    Ant

    Usage

    A reason not to leave food out

27. Bani

    Bee / honey

    Usage

    Mountain honey is a common souvenir

28. Labadain

    Spider

    Usage

    The same word covers the web

29. Sintupeia

    Centipede

    Usage

    A painful sting — check inside your shoes

30. Lalar

    Fly

    Usage

    Comes up when talking about street food

31. Borboleta

    Butterfly

    Usage

    From Portuguese; a dragonfly is "tekilili"

32. Manduku

    Frog

    Usage

    They form a chorus in the wet season

33. Kutun

    Louse

    Usage

    A head louse is "utu"

34. Karakól

    Snail

    Usage

    From Portuguese

35. Sakunar

    Scorpion

    Usage

    Turns up indoors in the dry season

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