Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

be betei

, expr.

(You) come down!.

mei
/me

, v.i.

come; arrive.

mei a okedongel a chad; mei er tiei, mei me kulekoi, ka mei.

be

v.imp.

be a ta er a telengtengil a tekoi el mengai er a tekoi el mei; be bong, be metengel.

ble

v.past.hypothetical

mera

cont.

mei er a

merekung
/merkung

v.i.pred.

is about to come or arrive.

mermang
/meremang

v.inch.

meremang a merael mei; ngar er a omerolel el mei; dumiang er a dmuil.

mlei
/mle

v.past

came; arrived.

mlei a mla mei me ngar tiang; skoki a mlei er a tutau.
mle a melekoi er a rrekui; Bung a mle tmuu; ng mle mekerang?

mlera

cont.

mlei er a

be kbong

expr.

goodbye; I'm leaving.

me e mong

expr.

pass by; go on; "(in a direction) towards me and then keep going (past me)."

nguu el mei

expr.

bring.

ta el buil er mla me e mong

expr.

one month ago.

Examples:

Diak me ktanom er kau e moutekangel el okerdak?

> Can I request that you please drop me off?

Te di mle ta el mengedecheduch.

> They both spoke at the same time.

Me ta er a oluches.

> Give me one of the pencils.

Ng di omais el di meau me kede kmal ungil mes a rokui el ilekemellel.

> He just walks around naked so we can all see all of his parts.

A Rehina a ulemdasu er ngii el kmal klou el dil e le ng mle oubail er a dores.

> Rehina thought herself to be a big girl because she was wearing a dress.

Proverbs:

Ngak a ngit me kau a ngoi?

> I receive it and you ask for it?

A man asks for and receives that which he needs from a second party. A third party, learning of this, asks the first party for it. Used as implied or generally about any unreasonable request

Ng ko er a Beriber me a Chemaredong.

> It's like the case of Beriber and Chemaredong (who for a long time lived in adjacent caves unaware of each other's existence but who finally discovered each other and began to share their surpluces).

People wasting things and not sharing or cooperating as they should. Cooperative reciprocity among equals should be patterned on that exemplified by these two men. Beriber, who harvested coconut syrup, and Chemaredong, who was an expert fish trapper, lived in two small caves near the village of Oikuul in Airai (central Palau). These caves are side by side, separated by a natural wall about one foot thick. However, for a long time the neighbors did not know that the other existed. Finally, they discovered one another, and from that time on they engaged in mutually profiitable exchange of their surpluses in fish and syrup. An elder source said that this is more than a proverb (blukul a tekoi) and referred to it as ollach idnger, the "law of neighborliness."

Ng ko er a char er a Kosiil, el lecheraches e ng mong me a lekeriik e ng mei.

> Like seaweed at Kosiil, out with the tide and in with the tide.

Kosiil is a location in the lagoon where the seaweed can be seen to bend in and out with the tide. The idiom is applied to a leader who is too flexible and unreliable. In the short form (Kora char ra Kosiil) it may simply mean, "I'll go along with what you decide."

Kau, ke ngelekel a Redechor, me ke di dechor?

> Are you the son of Redechor

is that why you're standing around so much?

Ng kora bechars er a Ngerdobotar, el di kiei me ng chelengang

> Like the cockroach of Ngerdobotar, staying on till it became white.

Presumably if a cockroach remains in the darkness for a long time, as one at Ngerdobotar (in Aimeliik) apparently did, it will turn white. Application pertains to a visitor who stays on and on, especially one who is not helpful in the household. Such behavior is not properly human; the person is somehow different, like a white cockroach.

More Examples:

A rokui el ngalek a mle ngelekel tia el chimo el beluu. Ng mle klou a klaukerreu.

> All the kids belonged to the village. Everyone cared about each other.

Ng di bita el mera el mo soal mo er ngii a eolt.

> It seems like there is a possibilty of a typhoon.

Ke mera el ko er a aika el char er a Kosiil!

> You are so like them seaweeds at Kosiil!

A Ulang a mera el sekodechelakl, ng kuk milcheliang el di oumondai.

> Ulang is so fiesty, she's back at it arguing again.

Be mngai a buk er kemiu

> ?ome and get your books

remei

, v.i.

go or come home.

remei a lmuut el mo er a blil; remei er a blirir.

Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

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