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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:

bludech, v.r.s.bound into sheaves; pacified.
a
mla
el
a
a
a
See also:
delengesakl, v.r.s.(person or thing) under a spell.
a
mla
a
mla
er
a
el
er
a
See also:
klemudel, v.r.s.(hair) cut; (shrubs, etc.) trimmed; (string, etc.) cut.
a
a
mla
a
See also:
nglai, v.r.s.brought; taken; received; obtained.
a
mla
a
mla
See also:
telacheb, v.r.s.wounded/pricked with spine of fish.
a
mla
er
a
See also:
ulteremed, v.r.s.pressed down; crushed.
a
mla
el
a
See also:
ultok, v.r.s.sticking out; projecting; opposed; gone against.
a
mla
a
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:

bereberall, v.a.s.is to be snatched, grabbed or seized; (land) is to be captured.
See also:
chemachel, v.a.s.(betel nut) is to be chewed; (tobacco) is to be smoked.
a
el
er
a
el
er
a
me
a
a
me
a
el
See also:
ochotall, v.a.s.is to be shown or revealed.
a
el
a
el
kar
a
er
a
See also:
sechaol, v.a.s.is to be jerked/pulled.
a
el
a
el
a
a
e
le
ng
See also:
tebongel, v.a.s.(hands, dishes, etc.) are to be washed/rinsed.
See also:
tirterall, v.a.s.is to be hunted or investigated.
a
el
a
a
a
See also:
ungkill, v.a.s.is to be named.
a
el
a
er
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
silssun; day.bekesils(boys) smell sweaty or gamey (after perspiring in sun).
bangchbite.sekebangch(animal, person) prone to biting.
kimtype of large clam; female genitals.bekekimsmell of clams (after cleaning or cooking clams).
cheludechwooden float for fish net; light weight wood used to make corks.cheludech(wood) dried out (and light in weight).
cheluchcoconut oil; fuel (e.g. gasoline, kerosene, diesel oil, etc.); grease (from meat being cooked).bekecheluchsmell of coconut oil.
idokeldirtiness; filthiness.idokel dirty; filthy.
dechuswart; mole.dechusplant in nettle family.

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
outekangel
er
a
: Palauan of outekangel er a rengul'>
er
a
persevere; force (oneself) to do something.
luut
er
a
: Palauan of luut er a rengul'>
er
a
anything causing one to lose one's resolve.
durengul : Palauan of durengul'> intention.
omekerrau
er
a
: Palauan of omekerrau er a rengul'>
er
a
confuse; puzzle.
melechang
a
a
: Palauan of melechang a llechul a rengul'>
a
a
teach (someone) a lesson.
tngeklel
a
: Palauan of tngeklel a rengul'>
a
peace offering for someone.
mengeokl
er
a
: Palauan of mengeokl er a rengul'>
er
a
burden; bother; cause concern; weigh on.


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