Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

mak

, n., [From German]

fifty cents.
mak a tedobech er a chimo el kluk $1.00; mak a okeim el sengs.

me a

, conj.

and.

ma

cont.

me a

mak

cont.

me ak

maki

cont.

me aki

me

conj.

and.
me a omech a tekoi; kau me ngak me ngii, Calista me tir a mong.

meng

cont.

me ng

Examples:

Ng techa a dilu er kau me ke me er tiang?

> Who told you to come here?

A bersoech a chilebeldkak me ak killii.

> The snake tricked me into eating it.

Me itia er a lomechela el mo mesesilkolkg, e

> As it began to get dark

Ng kuk oberaod er a chelechol er a rriil, me lak lemechas a rengmiu er a tekoi el kulekoi.

> They would weigh more than the sands of the sea, so my wild words should not surprise you.

Ngak a ngit me kau a ngoi?

> I just asked for it (and got it), and now you want to take it?

Proverbs:

A rengud me chodab.

> The heart and assessment.

This might better be translated, "Assessment with knowledge." The mind or head is thought to be the locus of knowledge in Palau, but such knowledge is made useful or is measured with the heart (reng). Chodab, in this context, would appear to mean "to take stock of" or "to measure." In essence, then, the phrase cautions one who seems on the point of making a rash decision to temper his thoughts with his heart.

Tia di ngii mak terrob ra Mekaeb

> It's as if I've submerged my head into Mekaeb (the channel between Peleliu and Agaur).

A term to describe a dish that is really salty.

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.

Ng diak kobetik rengii recheroid e me douchi er a rebai.

> Without looking afield, it was cut down behind the house.

From the folk tale concerning Mesubed Dingal, the inventor of the Palauan kite (see also No. 73). After his wife had been kidnapped, he constructed a kite using feathers from all the birds of Palau and he needed also wood from an Edebsungel tree to fashion the body of the bird-kite. After looking all over Palau and being on the point of giving up, he found the tree he needed behind his own house. The saying may be applied to anyone who does things the hard way, or who goes far afield to find something which is close at hand.

Ng ko er a chad er a Ngcheangel, el di me chemed er a Ngkesol.

> Like the man of Kayangel, who procured his gifts from Keso

The saying refers to a man from the atoll of Kayangel, some twenty miles north of the main islands of Palau, who, on his way south to visit friends, stopped at an intermediate reef, Kesol, to fish for a present for his host. Refers to a person who, en route to a visit, tries to borrow a present from another guest; any person who suddenly wants to borrow money.

More Examples:

Mekong me a uriul.

> Well see you later.

Ng diak lsoam el ko er a mo ousueleb me a lechub e ng belsoil er a ta er a taem?

> Do you want to have lunch or dinner sometime?

Tia el siasing er kau el ngar er a chelbacheb, tiang ngerang el dengchokl er ngii? Ng brer me a lechub e ng totang?

> Your picture at the rock island, what are you sitting on? Is it bamboo raft or tin canoe?

A delak me a demak a betik a rengrir er ngak.

> My mother and father love me.

Ng dimlak el longuiu me ng kmal urriid.

> She was very lost and didn't know what to do.

omak

, v.t.

anchor, tie up; make (relationship between people) closer, (plant) send out (roots) into soil.
omak a loia okul; orebetii a ouak, mekur a bilis; omak a ert.

Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

Search for another word: