Quick links:

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:

blalech, v.r.s.hit with a slingshot.
a
mla
a
See also:
bludech, v.r.s.bound into sheaves; pacified.
a
mla
el
a
a
a
See also:
nglaml, v.r.s.(grass, garden, yard etc.) cut.
a
mla
a
See also:
tellechekl, v.r.s.put aside; cringing; inconspicuous.
a
el
el
See also:
ulsebek, v.r.s.made to fly.
a
mla
a
mla
a
See also:
ultuu, v.r.s.made to enter; put into.
a
mla
mla
a
er
a
a
er
a
See also:
urreked, v.r.s.held onto; grasped.
a
mla
a
a
e
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:

bengall, v.a.s.is to be interrupted.
See also:
bereberall, v.a.s.is to be snatched, grabbed or seized; (land) is to be captured.
See also:
beremall, v.a.s.(fish) is to be allowed to spoil slightly before wrapping and barbequeing.
a
el
mo
el
See also:
oidall, v.a.s.is to be copied, translated or transferred.
a
el
a
a
See also:
uchelcheball, v.a.s.(cooking food) is to be covered with leaf; bag; etc.
See also:
uchetall, v.a.s.(fishing line) is to be provided with leader.
a
el
er
a
a
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
bodechcurved configuration/shape of boat.bodechesausstanding erect/in ramrod fashion; standing with expanded chest.
besbastrash; rubbish; litter; debris.besbesiileasily litter.
idokeldirtiness; filthiness.idokel dirty; filthy.
bekngiukmold; (food) moldy/mildewed.bekngiuk(food) moldy/mildewed.
bausmell; odor; scent.bekebausmell of vagina.
chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).chermall having vagina which lubricates quickly.
cheremrumtype of sea cucumber; trepang.bekecheremrumsmell of sea cucumber.

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
mengedidai
er
a
: Palauan of mengedidai er a rengul '>
er
a
act stubbornly, scornfully or condescendingly.
bechelechelingaol
a
: Palauan of bechelechelingaol a rengul'>
a
selfish; greedy; stingy; self-centered.
medengelii
a
: Palauan of medengelii a rengul'>
a
regain consciousness (after a faint or stroke); (person) self-confident or self-assured; (person) knowing his abilities or capacities.
mechedeng
a
: Palauan of mechedeng a rengul'>
a
get surprised, puzzled or perplexed (by someone's behavior, etc.).
olturk
a
: Palauan of olturk a rengul'>
a
satiate; make someone give up (from fatigue); get one's fill of; insult continuously or mercilessly; let someone really have it.
dmeu
a
: Palauan of dmeu a rengul'>
a
happy; glad; joyful; appreciative.
mereng
er
a
: Palauan of mereng er a rengul'>
er
a
please; go along with (so as not to hurt feelings).


Fatal error: Uncaught mysqli_sql_exception: Table 'belau.log_bots' doesn't exist in /home/johnbent/tekinged.com/functions.php:520 Stack trace: #0 /home/johnbent/tekinged.com/functions.php(520): mysqli_query(Object(mysqli), 'INSERT INTO log...') #1 /home/johnbent/tekinged.com/functions.php(1838): visitlog(NULL) #2 /home/johnbent/tekinged.com/grammar/adjectives.php(109): belau_footer('/grammar/adject...') #3 {main} thrown in /home/johnbent/tekinged.com/functions.php on line 520