Colors

1. Mean

   Me-an

   Red

   Usage

   Pronounced as two syllables, "me-an" — not like the English word "mean"

   Grammar Note

   Color words are adjectives placed after the noun: "kamiza mean" (a red shirt). There is no gender or number agreement. "rai mean" means clay.

2. Kór de laranja

   Kor de la-ran-ja

   Orange

   Usage

   The fruit is "sabraka"; the color uses Portuguese-derived "laranja"

   Grammar Note

   Colors without a native word use the pattern "kór de + thing," borrowed directly from Portuguese "cor de laranja."

3. Kinur

   Ki-nur

   Yellow

   Usage

   A native word; the Portuguese-derived "amarelu" is used interchangeably

   Grammar Note

   Many Tetum colors have both a native and a Portuguese-derived word (kinur / amarelu, matak / verde). Either is understood.

4. Matak

   Ma-tak

   Green

   Usage

   Means both "green" and "unripe / raw" — of fruit it means "not yet ripe"

   Grammar Note

   Green is also "modok" or "verde." "modok" often refers to plant green and survives in words like "samodok" (green snake).

5. Azúl

   A-zul

   Blue

   Usage

   Tetum has no native word for blue and uses Portuguese-derived "azúl." Dark/navy blue is "azúl tuan"

   Grammar Note

   Like many Austronesian languages, Tetum traditionally covered blue and green with "matak"; the modern color "blue" is carried by a loanword.

6. Azúl nurak

   A-zul nu-rak

   Light blue / Sky blue

   Usage

   Shade is expressed with "nurak" (light) and "tuan" (dark)

   Grammar Note

   "nurak" (young) and "tuan" (old) double as light and dark. Tetum also has "kór moris" (bright color) and "kór maten" (dull color).

7. Kór de violeta

   Kor de vi-o-le-ta

   Purple / Violet

   Usage

   Many speakers also say "roxu" (from Portuguese "roxo")

   Grammar Note

   Purple is not part of the traditional color vocabulary; in everyday speech people often just point and say "kór ida-ne'e" (this color).

8. Kór de roza

   Kor de ro-za

   Pink

   Usage

   Literally "rose color"; often shortened to "kór roza"

   Grammar Note

   A Tetum respelling of Portuguese "cor-de-rosa." Tetum orthography writes the voiced sibilant as "z."

9. Kór kafé

   Kor ka-fe

   Brown

   Usage

   Literally "coffee color" — coffee is Timor-Leste's largest export

   Grammar Note

   Here the linker "de" is dropped: "kór kafé." For an intermediate skin tone, Tetum uses "morenu" (m.) / "morena" (f.).

10. Mutin

    Mu-tin

    White

    Usage

    Also used for grey hair

    Grammar Note

    A native word. "isin mutin" means light-skinned, and "malae mutin" is the everyday term for a white foreigner.

11. Metan

    Me-tan

    Black

    Usage

    A basic word, also used for hair and skin color

    Grammar Note

    A native word. "isin metan" means dark-skinned. Hair color is described with just three terms: metan, mutin, and mean.

12. Malahuk

    Ma-la-huk

    Grey

    Usage

    For greying hair, Tetum uses "mutin," not "malahuk"

    Grammar Note

    The native word for grey. To ask about color: "Kór saida?" (What color?).

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