tupela

Tok Pisin

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. This language is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Etymology 1

From tu +‎ -pela.

Adjective

tupela

1. two
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:6:

     Bihain God i tok olsem, “Wanpela banis i mas kamap bilong banisim wara, bai wara i stap long tupela hap.” Orait dispela banis i kamap. God i mekim dispela banis i kamap bilong banisim wara antap na wara daunbilo.

     →New International Version translation

Usage notes

Used when modifying a noun.

Etymology 2

From English two +‎ -pela (from English fellow).

Pronoun

tupela du

1. they two (dual third-person pronoun)
   • 1995, John Verhaar, Toward a reference grammar of Tok Pisin: an experiment in corpus linguistics‎^[1], →ISBN, page 433:

     Mekim olsem pinis, orait tupela i planim taro na banana, na kumu, painap, kon, tomato, na kaukau tu.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

See also

Tok Pisin personal pronouns

			singular	dual	trial	plural
1st person			mi	mitupela (exclusive) yumitupela (inclusive)	mitripela (exclusive) yumitripela (inclusive)	mipela (exclusive) yumipela, yumi (inclusive)
2nd person			yu	yutupela	yutripela	yupela
3rd person			em	tupela	tripela	ol