Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

klebesei

, n.

night; tonight.
klebesei a ngeltel a sils el mo lmuut er a ngesechel a sils, milkolk.

luk

, n.

silence.
luk a lmuk; diak a tekingel.

mei
/me

, v.i.

come; arrive.

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

mla

, v.s.

was/were (located); existed.
mla a melekoi er a rrekui el tekoi; mla mong; mla er ker; mla er a skuul.

bla

v.s.hypothetical

mla

aux.

has (done something).

mlar

cont.

mla er

mlara

cont.

mla er a

a lebla er ngii

expr.

if there had been.

mla mo

expr.

has become.

ng mla er ngii

expr.

there has or have been; there was or were.

Examples:

Ng mla imiit a cheokl er a rengul.

> It's a big relief.

A Toki a mla er a New York el mo er a Paris.

> Toki went from New York to Paris.

A eolt a mla mo diak lsal meses.

> The wind/storm has abated.

A ngelekel a kiuid a mla mo oubusech.

> The blackbird has begun to grow/get feathers.

Ak mla menga a diokang me a ngikel me a chemang.

> I've eaten tapioca, fish and crab.

Proverbs:

Ng ko er a chad er a Ngesias, el ngemuu er a mla mokom.

> It's like when the men of Ngesias clamored over what they had lost (after a party of raiders had attacked without warning and taken a head as a trophy).

The men of the Ngesias (Peleliu) village club were sitting near their clubhouse one evening when raiders broke through the brush, shouted wildly, and excaped with the head of one of them. When they recovered their senses, the men jumped to their spears and shouted threats into the darkness of the surrounding brush. Aroused by the commotion, the village chief appeared and ,when appraised of the situation, admonished them to be quiet since the fuss would gain nothing. "Don't cry over spilt milk."

Ng mla mkelii a tual.

> He cut down his own banana.

A man supplies fertilizer (money) for a banana tree that, eventually, provides fruit (gifts of food). The cycle, in this saying, is compared with that of the food-money cycle of a marriage in which the wife's clan provides food and service, while the husband's clan provides occasional payments of money. If a banana tree is cut down before it bears fruit, the cycle is interrupted. Hence, a man who marries incestuously within his own clan and thereby inhibits the foodmoney cycle.

Ng ko er a Ngiramesemong, el omilt a mla me e mong.

> Like Ngiramesemong, rehashing what has been finished.

Pertains to a person who repeatedly reminds another of past favors or continually recalls the mistakes of others. (My sources no longer recalled the episode or story from which this idiom derives.)

Ng mla merekakl a tekingel.

> He swallowed his words.

An inconsistent person, especially one who has stated that he would never do something, then does it.

A rekung el daob a mla otitech a rekung el beluu.

> Sea crabs have pushed out land crabs.

Outsiders have taken over the land or titles of local people. An outsider (e.g., adopted child, friend) has become more important than a blood relative.

More Examples:

Ak mla er a blai.

> I was at the house.

Aika el barrill a mla mo mui.

> These barrels are now full.

Ng mla obuu a osul a isngek!

> I have a nose bleed!

Ulang, diak molengull e ke kmal mla mo churusai.

> Ulang, can't you stop as you are getting annoying.

Ng kmo ng mla mo betok el lebong.

> He says he's been there several times.

nguemed

, v.i.

finish; die out; run out; get used up; get depleted.
nguemed a mo diak; mla nguemed a remechuodel el chad.

omilt

, v.t.

repeat or rehash (matter).
omilt a omelekl; melekoi a mla medung; omilt a mla memong.

Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

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