Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

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:

Dosei kom oungalek, me bo mkaubuch.

> At any rate, you (two) have a child, so you might as well get married.

A Satsko a mle otsir er a test.

> Satsko failed the test.

Ng mle ngabtchelid, e ak mlo er a uche er a klaidesachel.

> Fortuitously, I came in first in the race.

A ideliseb e ng mle Sabadong.

> The day before yesterday was Saturday.

Rechedam me a rechedil, lak molengasech a rengrir a rengelekiu.

> Parents, do not treat your children in such a way as to make them angry.

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 Ngerechebal, el ka lsingd er a Imeliik me a ka lsingd er a Ngerekebesang.

> He's like Ngerechebal Island, which is neither closer to Imeliik nor closer to Ngerekebesang.

i.e. He's indecisive or not clearly taking sides. A person who is "on the fence," changeable and indecisive. The saying may also be applied to a partly westernized Palauan.

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 debar er a Ngechur, el klungang e me ngal modekriker.

> Like the duck of Ngechur, he became industrious after growing old.

The idiom is applied to a person who has more or less vegetated into maturity and old age and who, already far past his prime, suddenly tries without success to do all the things he might have done when younger. It may be used with reference to an elder who tries to be a dandy.

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.

More Examples:

A toktang a kmo ng kirek el omad er tia el bduu er a ochik me ng sebechel obuu me bo lungil.

> The doctor says that I need to heat up my boil so that it can burst and get better.

Ng teruich me a eai a rekil.

> He's 18 years old.

Tirka el mengeteklel a beluad a mera el diak lodengei a rengrir.

> Our leaders just don't have any compassion.

Ng mle omtaut er a ngau.

> She started the fire.

Eiang, ke mera el delikik.

> Darn it, you are such a nincompoop.

mellemau

, v.s.

blue; green; black and blue; bruised.
mellemau a bedengel a toachel; a blai a melelemau, oumellemau.

oumerang

, v.i.

believe; trust.
oumerang a ngar er ngii a klaumerang er ngii, oumerang er a chelid.

Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

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