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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:

selodel, v.r.s.torn; dismembered.
a
a
a
See also:
telamet, v.r.s.straightened out.
a
mla
a
a
a
See also:
telinget, v.r.s.plugged (at one end).
a
mla
a
a
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uldaob, v.r.s.(klengoes) salted with sea water.
a
mla
mo
er
a
a
a
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ulekdubech, v.r.s.(plant) cultivated; (business, etc.) established or started.
a
di
mla
a
a
er
er
a
el
a
er
a
el
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ulsesei, v.r.s.moved a little bit or ways.
a
mla
el
a
el
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urreteret, v.r.s.(desire) suppressed; pushed into ground.
a
er
mla
mo
mla
me
er
eou
a
a
a
er
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:

chelechall, v.a.s.is to be reminded.
See also:
chesechesemall, v.a.s.is to be dirtied or smeared (with food).
a
el
a
er
a
See also:
kebikl, v.a.s.is to be hung.
a
el
a
See also:
kilungall, v.a.s.is to be enlarged or increased in size.
a
el
mo
a
mo
a
a
a
a
mo
el
a
a
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techebekill, v.a.s.is to be dived into.
a
el
el
sal
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tengetngall, v.a.s.(food) is to be obtained, sought or foraged for.
See also:
ungelmall, v.a.s.is to be given drink or made to drink.
a
el
msa
er
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
diulareng(someone's) happiness/joy.dmeuhappy; glad; joyful; appreciative.
tangtikebikelsee-saw; teeter-totter.tangtikebikel(object) wobbly or in danger of falling over.
omecherollwomb; uterus; place where animals breed; birth canal.bekecheroll(woman) fertile/having many children.
kerdikyaws; framboesia.kerdikyaws; framboesia.
katuucat.bekekatuusmell of a cat.
iluodelstones, coconut shells, or similar objects used as support for cooking pot during serving.iluodel(people) sitting, standing or arranged in a circle; (stone platform) built circular.
telengtungdwild tamarind; lead tree.telengtungdwild tamarind; lead tree.

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
moded
a
: Palauan of moded a rengul'>
a
(person is) easygoing/even-tempered.
klsbengel
a
: Palauan of klsbengel a rengul'>
a
anger.
bekokuii
a
: Palauan of bekokuii a rengul'>
a
kind; generous.
chidirengul : Palauan of chidirengul'> chaidirengul
ulsemuul
a
: Palauan of ulsemuul a rengul'>
a
(person) humble.
selorech
a
: Palauan of selorech a rengul'>
a
condescending.
bekesbesib
a
: Palauan of bekesbesib a rengul'>
a
prone to sweating; easily angered; touchy.


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