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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:

chelaus, v.r.s.sprinkled with lime; woven.
a
mla
a
a
a
a
See also:
delangch, v.r.s.set aside; recognized; mounded.
mla
er
a
er
a
el
mo
a
See also:
deludeu, v.r.s.bent in many places.
a
el
mla
a
See also:
klurs, v.r.s.pulled; towed; dragged.
a
mla
a
a
See also:
telechetech, v.r.s.distracted.
a
el
er
a
a
a
See also:
ulengoid, v.r.s.(food) given or exchanged ceremonially; messed up; put in wrong place.
a
mla
a
el
mla
a
el
a
a
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:

chetongel, v.a.s.is to be praised.
a
a
a
See also:
chitukall, v.a.s.is to be repaired, arranged or fixed.
a
el
el
a
el
See also:
okesebekill, v.a.s.(fingers) are to be snapped; (hands) are to be clapped.
a
el
a
See also:
rekemall, v.a.s.is to be broken into pieces or smaller denomination; (money) is to be exchanged.
See also:
songesongel, v.a.s.(coconut tree) is to be tapped for sap.
See also:
techelekill, v.a.s.is to be moved or pushed up and away; is to be cleared.
a
el
el
a
er
a
el
mo
a
See also:
tuul, v.a.s.is to be heated or cooked lightly; is to be heated so as to become bendable; is to be rubbed or massaged.
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
ngelloklnodding; dozing (off).olengelloklnod when sleepy; doze off.
chelsebengoshandsomeness.chesbengoshandsome; beautiful.
chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).chermall having vagina which lubricates quickly.
bausmell; odor; scent.bekebau(cooked meat or fish, cooking pot, etc.) foul-smelling.
dechuswart; mole.dechus having warts.
cheludechwooden float for fish net; light weight wood used to make corks.cheludechwooden float for fish net; light weight wood used to make corks.
chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).

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
mengerar
er
a
: Palauan of mengerar er a rengul '>
er
a
criticise; insult; put down; make someone feel ashamed; hurt someone's feelings.
beltik
a
: Palauan of beltik a rengul'>
a
betik a rengul
bekesbesebek
a
: Palauan of bekesbesebek a rengul'>
a
easily worried; worrisome.
ultebechel
a
: Palauan of ultebechel a rengul'>
a
honest; mature and responsible.
oubuch
a
: Palauan of oubuch a rengul'>
a
treat person as if he or she were one's spouse.
bekesbesib
a
: Palauan of bekesbesib a rengul'>
a
prone to sweating; easily angered; touchy.
mekngit
er
a
: Palauan of mekngit er a rengul'>
er
a
not good for; not all right with.


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