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Palauan Adjectives

The following is a brief discussion about Palauan adjectives. For a longer exploration, please refer to discussions of state verbs in the Joseph Handbooks. According to the official Lewis Joseph grammar book of Palauan, there are no Palauan parts of speech called adjectives. However, Palauan does, of course, have words used to describe other words. In English, we call these words adjectives. Examples of English adjectives are dangerous, beautiful, and hot.

Palauan Resulting State Verbs

In Palauan, words corresponding to English adjectives are called state verbs. There are several types of Palauan state verbs. The most common are resulting state verbs which occur as a result of a verb. Some examples:

Here is a list of seven random Palauan verbs and their resulting state verbs:

berrius, v.r.s.carried along by (current, flood).
a
mla
a
er
a
See also:
berruud, v.r.s.torn/pulled off.
a
mla
el
mla
a
See also:
bloch, v.r.s.stepped on and crushed.
a
mla
mla
a
el
a
See also:
klull, v.r.s.respected; honored.
a
mla
a
a
See also:
ulecheoch, v.r.s.asked for persistently.
a
mla
mla
el
mla
a
er
a
See also:
ultuub, v.r.s.degraded; insulted; slandered.
a
mla
oba
el
a
me
a
er
a
See also:
urrael, v.r.s.cracked; fractured.
a
el
a
el
a
See also:

 

Palauan Anticipating State Verbs

Anticipating state verbs in Palauan are like resulting state verbs. However, instead of describing the state of something after a verb has modified it, these describe the state of something before a verb is anticipated to modify it. Here's seven random Anticipating State Verbs:

beakl, v.a.s.is to be shot.
a
el
a
a
See also:
chesechesemall, v.a.s.is to be dirtied or smeared (with food).
a
el
a
er
a
See also:
ildall, v.a.s.(fruit, tapioca, taro, etc.) is to be peeled.
a
a
a
a
a
See also:
otungall, v.a.s.is to be made to enter or to put into.
a
el
a
a
See also:
tirterall, v.a.s.is to be hunted or investigated.
a
el
a
a
a
See also:
uklematel, v.a.s.is to be made straight.
See also:
utichioll, v.a.s.is to be changed, replaced or succeeded.
See also:

 

State Verbs with Related Nouns

In English, a common thing to do is to ask 'how XXXX is something,' where XXXX is an adjective. For example, 'how hot is that,' or 'how dangerous is that,' are common English expressions.

This is true in Palauan as well in a form like, 'ng uangarang a kleldelel,' which translates literally perhaps to something like, 'it is like what, its heat,' or figuratively as, 'how hot is it.' The word kleldelel is a possessed noun meaning 'its heat.' See the nouns page for a longer explanation of possessed nouns.

Many of these Palauan nouns have related state verbs which translate to, and are used as, English adjectives. Here is a list of seven random Palauan nouns along with their corresponding state verbs.

Palauan_NounEngish_NounPalauan_AdjEnglish_Adj
bisechwild taro (makes mouth itchy).bisechfish with black and yellow stripes (makes mouth itchy).
uidglue; resin; fuel for lamp.muduidsticky; adhesive.
bikodelhives or rash from allergies; allergic reaction affecting the skin.bikodelhives or rash from allergies; allergic reaction affecting the skin.
bsibsdrill; termite.tereblsibsfull of holes.
chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).
cheludechwooden float for fish net; light weight wood used to make corks.cheludech(wood) dried out (and light in weight).
uidfruit that has fallen off the tree on its own.udallis to be glued or pasted.

Reng Idioms as Adjectives

There are many Palauan expressions which use a state verb to describe the Palauan word reng which means spirit or heart. These are idioms which mean their literal and figurative meanings are not the same. Typically, but not always, the figurative meaning describes an emotion. An example is kesib a reng, which literally means a sweaty heart but figuratively it means to be angry. Here is a list of seven random examples of these reng idioms:

PalauanEnglish
kie
a
: Palauan of kie a rengul '>
kie
a
calm down; stop worrying.
mesaul
a
: Palauan of mesaul a rengul'>
a
not feel like.
betik
er
a
: Palauan of betik er a rengul'>
er
a
one's beloved.
luut
er
a
: Palauan of luut er a rengul'>
er
a
anything causing one to lose one's resolve.
melib
er
a
: Palauan of melib er a rengul'>
er
a
decide; make up one's mind.
mengedidai
er
a
: Palauan of mengedidai er a rengul '>
er
a
act stubbornly, scornfully or condescendingly.
ulsarech
a
: Palauan of ulsarech a rengul'>
a
(emotions etc.) held in.


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