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:

Tia a bresengt er ngak el me er kau.

> This is my present for you.

A Mary a oureachel a saks me a sportsiuus.

> Mary is wearing socks and sport shoes.

A siasing a mera el terrekakl el lluches.

> The picture is really sloppily drawn.

Bo er a stoang me mochar a keled.

> Go to the store and buy us food.

Ak mle uleksaul er a rengelekek.

> I was exhausted by my children.

Proverbs:

Ng okouik me ng obached, e a lokouim eng diak lobached.

> If it is my lunch it can be divided, if it is yours then it cannot

Two men habitually trapped fish in the same region of the lagoon. One would occasionally ask the other to join him at lunch, the other would always refuse. One day the man who refused arrived with no lunch. When the usual invitation was extended the man refused, saying that, anyway, he had no lunch. The invitation was insistently pressed until the reluctant one gave in. As they split the taro between them the one who shared made the above statement. The idiom is a mild rebuke of a retentive person

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."

Ng ko er a ibuchel er a Ngemai el di kiei me a dekedekel.

> He's like the sea urchins between Ngiwal and Melekeok, on the ocean floor with its cover.

The sea urchin can be seen lying quietly on the lagoon floor, occasionally with a leaf like a hat covering its head. Applied to a man who acquires a wife or great wealth without working for it.

Ke mera el di medochii el rouar.

> You grab and then you pick it up.

Like telling a joke, you're still telling it yet you laugh like you just heard it.

Ak meruul me kau er a terudel?

> I build it and you destroy it?

May be applied to a person who feels his aims or projects are being destroyed by the actions of another.

More Examples:

Ng kuk mocha kebesengei me ng kuk mo ribsakl a sils.

> It's getting dark and the sun is setting.

A John a mle kachebangel ngii me a bechim er tia el mur.

> John was facing towards his wife during the ceremony.

Ng mera el betik a renguk er kau e sechelik.

> I love you, my friend.

A orekemel ngii el udoud a diak di lultuil er a klungel el meliuekl, ng mo uldak er a rengelel a omelsechel me a ngeiul el mo er a Beluulechab el ngar er a debii.

> The value of such stone money is not only the sheer size of the discs, but the physical and treacherous labor of carving them, and then transporting them back to Yap via outrigger canoe.

Ng mlo telkib el ngesonges a ududek me ng dimlak kucherar a chemelek el dekool.

> My budget was low, I could not buy cigarettes.

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

Search for another word: