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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:

chelilt, v.r.s.oiled; greased; anointed; cared for.
a
mla
er
a
a
er
a
See also:
ngelsakl, v.r.s.divided; separated; (wood) removed from fire; moved out of the way.
a
a
me
a
a
See also:
rraud, v.r.s.(fishnet) closed.
a
mla
a
a
See also:
rrot, v.r.s.pounded; smashed; crushed.
a
mla
a
er
a
See also:
rruul, v.r.s.made; done; prepared; (person) born to or made for; (person) trained or conditioned (to do something); (person) born to or made for; (person) trained or conditioned (to do something).
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:

chedukl, v.a.s.is to be paved with stones.
a
el
a
a
See also:
chisisall, v.a.s.are to be piled up one on top of the other.
a
el
a
er
a
a
See also:
ochedecheraol, v.a.s.is to be made to stand; is to be built.
See also:
oremoll, v.a.s.is to be urged or forced.
See also:
tebiil, v.a.s.is to be planned, arranged or decided on or determined.
See also:
ukeruul, v.a.s.is to be given medicine; (fish) is to be salted.
a
el
a
a
el
a
a
a
See also:
ukrengall, v.a.s.is to be guided, advised or led.
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
chaziflavor, taste.chazitasty.
bangchbite.sekebangch(animal, person) prone to biting.
rubakelder; old man; chief; foreign man; boyfriend; husband.rubakelder; old man; chief; foreign man; boyfriend; husband.
cherouwhite mushroom; white scar.cherouwhite mushroom; white scar.
singodor of sperm.besingsmell of sperm; smell unclean (esp., used in insults referring to women).
chullrain; rainy season.chullrainy.
chullrain; rainy season.chullrain; rainy season.

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
mekikiid
a
: Palauan of mekikiid a rengul'>
a
unsympathetic; uncaring; uninvolved; emotionless.
mengesib
er
a
: Palauan of mengesib er a rengul '>
er
a
get someone angry.
dechal
a
: Palauan of dechal a rengul '>
a
perseverance; ambition; strong will.
mellomes
a
: Palauan of mellomes a rengul'>
a
smart; diligent.
mengeokl
er
a
: Palauan of mengeokl er a rengul'>
er
a
burden; bother; cause concern; weigh on.
kngtil
a
: Palauan of kngtil a rengul'>
a
(someone's) being mean or feeling sad or frustrated.
ochemchuml
a
: Palauan of ochemchuml a rengul'>
a
seething inside with anger or hate.


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