Soror timidior est quam frater, sed veritatem tamen dicit.

Because timidior is the comparative form of the adjective timidus, timida, timidum (timid, fearful).

• timida = timid
• timidior = more timid

So Soror timidior est quam frater means The sister is more timid than the brother.

The ending -ior is a very common sign of the comparative in Latin.

In the comparative, Latin often uses the same form for masculine and feminine in the nominative singular.

So:

• masculine singular: timidior
• feminine singular: timidior
• neuter singular: timidius

Since soror is feminine singular, timidior is exactly the right form.

Because with quam in a straightforward comparison, Latin often keeps the second noun in the same case as the first.

Here the comparison is:

• soror = nominative
• frater = nominative

So:

• Soror timidior est quam frater
• literally: The sister is more timid than the brother

Latin could also sometimes use the ablative of comparison without quam, but that is not what is happening here.

Yes, often Latin can express comparison in two ways:

1. comparative + quam

   • Soror timidior est quam frater

2. comparative + ablative

   • Soror fratre timidior est

Both mean The sister is more timid than the brother.

The version with quam is often easier for beginners to recognize.

Est means is and links soror with timidior.

So:

• Soror timidior est = The sister is more timid

Latin sometimes omits forms of esse (to be) when they are easily understood, especially in poetry or very concise prose, but in normal textbook-style sentences it is very common to include est.

Because veritatem is the direct object of dicit.

• dicit = says / speaks / tells
• What does she say? veritatem = the truth

So the accusative marks the thing being said.

The noun is:

• nominative: veritas = truth
• accusative: veritatem = truth as object

Dicit is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• from dicere = to say, speak, tell

So dicit means he says, she says, or it says, depending on context.

Here it means she says, because the subject is soror.

Because Latin usually does not need a separate subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

• dicit already tells us: he/she/it says

And since the earlier subject is soror, we naturally understand:

• sed veritatem tamen dicit
• but she still says the truth / more naturally, but she still tells the truth

Latin often leaves pronouns out unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

They are similar in idea, but not identical.

• sed = but
• tamen = nevertheless / still / however

Using both together gives a stronger contrast:

• sed veritatem tamen dicit
• but she still/nevertheless tells the truth

This suggests something like:

• even though she is more timid, she still tells the truth.

In English we often would not use both words so explicitly, but in Latin this combination is perfectly natural.

It depends on what sounds most natural.

Latin word order is flexible, so tamen does not have to sit exactly where the English word goes. Good translations might be:

• but she still tells the truth
• but nevertheless she tells the truth
• but she tells the truth nonetheless

Usually still, nevertheless, or nonetheless works well.

Latin relies much more on endings than on word order.

In English, word order is very important:

• The sister tells the truth

In Latin, the endings already show each word’s role:

• soror = subject
• veritatem = object
• dicit = verb

Because of that, Latin can move words around for emphasis, style, or rhythm.

Here:

• Soror timidior est quam frater, sed veritatem tamen dicit

is a normal and clear order. But Latin could rearrange parts of it and still keep the same basic meaning.

Yes. It is a normal way to say speaks/tells the truth.

Literally it is says the truth, but in smoother English we usually say:

• tells the truth
• or speaks the truth

So when translating, it is better to use natural English rather than stick too rigidly to each individual word.

First, soror is nominative singular, which marks it as the subject of est.

Then in the second clause, there is no new subject named, and dicit is also singular, so Latin naturally continues with the same subject unless something signals a change.

So we understand:

• Soror timidior est quam frater
• sed [soror] veritatem tamen dicit

In other words: The sister is more timid than the brother, but she still tells the truth.

They are:

• soror, sororis — sister
• timidus, timida, timidum — timid, fearful
• sum, esse — to be
• quam — than
• frater, fratris — brother
• sed — but
• veritas, veritatis — truth
• tamen — nevertheless, still
• dico, dicere, dixi, dictum — say, tell

It is useful to learn nouns with both nominative and genitive, because that helps you identify their declension and stem:

• soror, sororis
• frater, fratris
• veritas, veritatis

It has two main clauses joined by sed:

1. Soror timidior est quam frater

   • subject: soror
   • predicate adjective: timidior
   • verb: est
   • comparison: quam frater

2. sed veritatem tamen dicit

   • conjunction: sed
   • object: veritatem
   • adverb: tamen
   • verb: dicit

So the overall pattern is:

• comparison
• then contrast

This makes the sentence easy to understand as:

• She may be more timid, but she still tells the truth.