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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:

bellibl, v.r.s.removed; extracted.
See also:
chelduib, v.r.s.carved; whittled; seduced by flattery.
a
mla
mla
a
See also:
chelosm, v.r.s.tapped or rapped on; rung.
a
mla
er
a
See also:
delirk, v.r.s.looked at in mirror.
See also:
klad, v.r.s.(sea cucumber) rolled/rubbed in ashes (to remove bad-tasting outer membrane).
er
a
a
di
el
ta
el
a
mla
a
el
a
er
See also:
ulekedurs, v.r.s.laid, put or knocked down; put to bed.
a
mla
mla
mo
a
er
a
See also:
ulkiis, v.r.s.awakened.
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:

chebengall, v.a.s.is to have someone facing towards him, her or it.
See also:
chesuechesall, v.a.s.is to be splinted.
See also:
chioll, v.a.s.is to be waited for.
a
el
a
er
a
er
See also:
ngedall, v.a.s.is to be seen/sent off; is to be returned/sent back; (bride) is to be brought to prospective husband's family.
a
er
a
a
a
a
el
See also:
ngkedall, v.a.s.(fine) is to be paid.
a
el
a
a
msa
See also:
siokel, v.a.s.is to be looked or sought for.
a
el
er
a
mo
er
a
See also:
tebteball, v.a.s.is to be broken up in small pieces.
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
bobaipapaya tree (including fruit).bobaidull; slow-witted.
mudechvomit.bekemudechsmell of vomit.
cheremrumtype of sea cucumber; trepang.bekecheremrumsmell of sea cucumber.
otangcheek.bekotangelhave fat cheeks.
meduumale genitals (large).meduumale genitals (large).
chelechedsmall sea crab.chelechedhusked.
dechuswart; mole.dechuswart; mole.

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
tuobed
a
: Palauan of tuobed a rengul'>
a
one's real feelings come out.
Dirrengulbai : Palauan of Dirrengulbai'> title of feminine counterpart or assistant to chief in Imeliik.
bletengel
a
: Palauan of bletengel a rengul'>
a
nonchalance; laziness.
obais
a
: Palauan of obais a rengul'>
a
get fed up with; become unable to cope with.
ukab
er
a
: Palauan of ukab er a rengul'>
er
a
(something sentimental) arouses one's emotions (touch someone's figurative heart).
mellomes
a
: Palauan of mellomes a rengul'>
a
smart; diligent.
omichoech
a
: Palauan of omichoech a rengul'>
a
(stomach) grumble, talk or gurgle (especially from hunger); (person) feel excited.


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