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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:

blais, v.r.s.(knife) blunted.
a
mla
a
a
a
See also:
cheltngaid, v.r.s.made thin.
See also:
delangch, v.r.s.set aside; recognized; mounded.
mla
er
a
er
a
el
mo
a
See also:
kled, v.r.s.(branch) cut or chopped off.
a
mla
a
a
See also:
ulekbat, v.r.s.(something) hidden or hard to find.
a
el
a
er
a
el
kar
er
a
er
a
a
mla
See also:
ulekdinges, v.r.s.made full; satisifed.
a
el
a
e
el
mla
See also:
ultaor, v.r.s.dropped and stuck in crotch of tree.
a
mla
ert
a
me
ng
el
a
mla
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:

bedoel, v.a.s.(ball, etc.) is to be caught; is to be grabbed.
a
el
a
a
a
See also:
biongel, v.a.s.is to be divided or distributed; (hair) is to be parted.
See also:
bungall, v.a.s.(round object) is to be broken, smashed or shattered; (bomb) is to be exploded.
See also:
chedermotall, v.a.s.(water) is to be stirred or agitated.
See also:
chetimall, v.a.s.is to be smeared or spread on.
See also:
odimall, v.a.s.is to have odoim added to it; is to be given odoim.
See also:
otoel, v.a.s.is to be pressed/squeezed.
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
tebullswelling; earth mound.tebullswelling; earth mound.
martilionghammer.martilionghammer.
kemangetlength (of string, etc.) which exceeds what is needed or expected.kemangetlength (of string, etc.) which exceeds what is needed or expected.
bodechcurved configuration/shape of boat.bodechesausstanding erect/in ramrod fashion; standing with expanded chest.
chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).
tangtikebikelsee-saw; teeter-totter.tangtikebikelsee-saw; teeter-totter.
uesvision; sight; view.sekoesperceptive; sharp-minded; acute; sensitive; aware of one's responsibilities or surroundings; capable of looking at something thoroughly or seeing all the angles and possibilities.

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
ungil
a
: Palauan of ungil a rengul'>
a
happy; glad; kind.
chelam
a
: Palauan of chelam a rengul'>
a
heartbroken.
melai
er
a
: Palauan of melai er a rengul'>
er
a
persuade.
uldellomel
a
: Palauan of uldellomel a rengul'>
a
responsible; purposeful; mature.
mechedeng
a
: Palauan of mechedeng a rengul'>
a
get surprised, puzzled or perplexed (by someone's behavior, etc.).
betik
a
: Palauan of betik a rengul'>
a
having a deep feeling or affection for; love.
smiich
a
: Palauan of smiich a rengul'>
a
feel proud about (someone).


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