Wine & Spirits

1. Bele haree lista vinhu?

   Be-le ha-re-e lis-ta vi-nhu?

   May I see the wine list?

   Usage

   Request the wine list at a restaurant. In Dili's Portuguese-style restaurants Tetun often works better than English

   Grammar Note

   "Bele" means "can, be able to, possible". Fronting it turns the clause into a request for permission. "lista vinhu" shows head-initial order: the modifier "vinhu" follows the head noun "lista".

2. Bele rekomenda vinhu lokál ka bebida lokál?

   Be-le re-ko-men-da vi-nhu lo-kal ka be-bi-da lo-kal?

   Can you recommend a local wine or spirit?

   Usage

   Ask for a local recommendation. In Timor-Leste a "local drink" usually means palm wine (tua) rather than grape wine

   Grammar Note

   "Ka" is both "or" and a question tag; here it is the disjunctive "or". The adjective "lokál" follows the noun it modifies.

3. Hau hakarak vinhu mutin, tintu, ka rosé.

   Hau ha-ka-rak vi-nhu mu-tin, tin-tu, ka ro-ze.

   I'd like white, red, or rosé wine.

   Usage

   Specify the type of wine. Red wine is "tintu"; the colour adjective "metan" (black) is not used for wine

   Grammar Note

   The words are "vinhu" (wine), "vinhu branku" (white wine) and "tintu" (red wine). White can also be expressed with the colour word "mutin", but red is "tintu", never "metan" (= black).

4. Hau hakarak kopu ida, ka botir ida.

   Hau ha-ka-rak ko-pu i-da, ka bo-tir i-da.

   I'd like a glass or a bottle please.

   Usage

   Choose between a glass and a bottle. The numeral "ida" follows the noun

   Grammar Note

   "Ida (1)" is both the numeral "one" and the indefinite article "a/an". Tetun numerals follow the noun, hence "kopu ida" (one glass).

5. Saida mak di'ak ba ai-han ida-ne'e?

   Sa-i-da mak di-ak ba ai-han i-da-ne-e?

   What pairs well with this dish?

   Usage

   Ask for a food pairing. "saida mak" is the standard focus question frame "what is it that…"

   Grammar Note

   "Mak" is a relative-clause marker and focus marker. "Saida mak …?" is the fixed frame for "what is it that…". "di'ak ba" literally means "good for", i.e. "goes with".

6. Persentajen alkohol hira iha ida-ne'e?

   Per-sen-ta-jen al-ko-hol hi-ra i-ha i-da-ne-e?

   What is the alcohol content?

   Usage

   Check the alcohol content. The figure itself is usually read out in Portuguese-style numerals

   Grammar Note

   "Persentajen (E)" — borrowed from English — is "percentage". "hira?" means "how many / how much" and quantity questions sit at the end of the clause.

7. Ida-ne'e maran, iha ai fuan nia gostu, ka kabeer.

   I-da-ne-e ma-ran, i-ha ai fu-an ni-a gos-tu, ka ka-be-er.

   This is dry, fruity, or smooth.

   Usage

   Describe tasting notes. "Smooth" is "kabeer"; "moos" means "clean, clear" and does not work here

   Grammar Note

   Tetun adjectives serve as predicates without a copula ("Ida-ne'e maran" = "this is dry"). "Maran" means dry and "kabeer" means smooth; "halo kabeer" = "to make smooth". There is no adjective for "fruity", so it is paraphrased as ai fuan ("fruit") + nia gostu ("its taste"). Frutu is Portuguese; the Tetun word for fruit is ai fuan.

8. Bele rekomenda tua lokál ka serveja?

   Be-le re-ko-men-da tu-a lo-kal ka ser-ve-ja?

   Can you recommend a local palm wine or beer?

   Usage

   Ask for local drinks. "tua" is palm wine; distilled "tua manas" is distinguished from sweet "tua mutin"

   Grammar Note

   "Tua" covers both palm wine and drinking alcohol in general ("alcohol (for drinking) tua"). Distilled spirit is "tua manas"; sweet palm wine is "tua mutin".

9. Hau hakarak halo degustasaun vinhu.

   Hau ha-ka-rak ha-lo de-gus-ta-saun vi-nhu.

   I'd like to do a wine tasting.

   Usage

   Request a tasting session. "halo" (do/make) plus a noun is the normal way to express an activity

   Grammar Note

   "Hakarak" means "to want, desire"; it takes a bare verb, so "hakarak halo" = "want to do". "degustasaun" shows the productive -saun suffix that renders Portuguese -ção.

10. Iha amostra ba prova?

    I-ha a-mos-tra ba pro-va?

    Do you offer samples?

    Usage

    Ask whether samples are on offer — more likely at a bar or supermarket tasting counter than at a winery. "amostra" is a Portuguese loan; the word for "taste, try" is "koko"

    Grammar Note

    "Prova" means "test, prove". "Ba prova" is a purpose phrase, "for tasting". Clause-initial "Iha …?" is the standard existential question. "Amostra" ("sample") is Portuguese and it is not certain it is understood as Tetun.

11. La'os midar liu, favór.

    La-os mi-dar li-u, fa-vor.

    Not too sweet, please.

    Usage

    State a sweetness preference. "Sweet" is "midar"; "moras" means "sick, sore" and is wrong here

    Grammar Note

    There are "sweet midar" and "midar-siin" (sweet and sour). "liu" follows an adjective to mark excess ("midar liu" = too sweet). "la'os" is the contrastive negator used with noun and adjective phrases.

12. Saida mak vinhu ne'ebé fó hela iha restoranti?

    Sa-i-da mak vi-nhu ne-e-be fo he-la i-ha res-to-ran-ti?

    What's the house wine?

    Usage

    Ask about the house wine. "Restaurant" is "restoranti" (not "uma-han", literally "eating house")

    Grammar Note

    "Saida mak … ne'ebé …?" combines the focus marker "mak" with the relative marker "ne'ebé". Post-verbal "hela" marks a continuing state — here "is being kept / is on offer".

13. Vinhu ne'e mai husi rejiaun ne'ebé?

    Vi-nhu ne-e mai hu-si re-ji-aun ne-e-be?

    What region is this wine from?

    Usage

    Ask where a wine comes from. Wine sold in Timor-Leste is mostly imported from Portugal, Australia and Chile

    Grammar Note

    "Husi" (also spelled "hosi") means "from, originate from". "mai husi" pairs the motion verb with the source preposition. The interrogative "ne'ebé" follows the noun to mean "which".

14. Hau hakarak kokteil husi [tua manas].

    Hau ha-ka-rak kok-teil hu-si [tu-a ma-nas].

    I'd like a cocktail made with [spirit].

    Usage

    Order a cocktail specifying the base spirit. Replace the bracketed slot with the name of the spirit

    Grammar Note

    "Husi" marks material as well as source ("made from"). "Tua manas" is spirits (tua = "palm wine, alcohol", manas = "hot"); "alku" is medical alcohol. Replace the bracketed slot with the name of a specific drink. "Kokteil" is a bare loan from English.

15. Saúde! / Viva!

    Sa-u-de! / Vi-va!

    Cheers! / Let's toast!

    Usage

    Toasting expressions, both from Portuguese; "Saúde" is the more common of the two

    Grammar Note

    "Saúde" is "health" and "viva!" is "long live…!". The toast literally invokes the drinker's health rather than the act of emptying the glass.

16. Vinhu ne'e malirin ka lae?

    Vi-nhu ne-e ma-li-rin ka la-e?

    Is this wine chilled?

    Usage

    Check the serving temperature — many shops keep wine at room temperature, so ask if you want it chilled

    Grammar Note

    "Malirin" means "cold, cool". "ka lae" ("or not") is the standard yes/no question tag, the same frame as "Di'ak ka lae?" ("Are you well?").

17. Iha bebida ne'ebé la iha alkohol?

    I-ha be-bi-da ne-e-be la i-ha al-ko-hol?

    Do you have non-alcoholic options?

    Usage

    Ask for non-alcoholic options. Coffee and young coconut are the usual alternatives in Timor-Leste — "nuu nurak" (young nut) and "nuu been" (coconut water)

    Grammar Note

    "la" is the basic verbal negator, so "la iha" = "does not have". The relative marker "ne'ebé" links the clause to the head noun: "a drink that has no alcohol".

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