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.

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:

A president a ngilai a rengrir a rechad er a Olbiil er a Kelulau el mle kedidai a rengrir.

> The president persuaded the senators that were being stubborn. The president obtained the hearts of the senators that had high hearts.

Ngak me a Helen a kausechelei.

> Helen and I are friends.

Ak mle uleksaul er a rengelekek.

> I was exhausted by my children.

Bo er a stoang me mochar a keled.

> Go to the store and buy us food.

A ngalek a mle mekar.

> The child was awake.

Proverbs:

Ng ko er a beab er a Ngerard, el kma a lisiu me a lisam.

> It's like the rat of Ngerard, which eats up all your coconuts and (then) all of ours.

It's a decision, plan etc. that will backfire. A pet rat owned by Mad, chief of Ngaraard, ate the coconuts of most of the chief's neighbors, then, still hungry, ate the chief's own coconuts.

Ke ko er a kuaol el sbungel er bab me iou.

> You're like a fish bait which can be eaten or pecked from the top and bottom.

You don't know what to do coz chores keep coming in from left and right.

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.

Mengar me a mecherocher.

> Bitter and salty.

The strategy of "doing things the hard way." When alternatives are available, the appropriate choice is the more difficult one. In voice, expression, and action there is a positive accent on personal ability.

Ng ko er a remechas el kerekikl er a klukl me a rames.

> Like an old woman who is cautious about coughing and breaking wind.

Among elderly women, it seems, coughing sometimes produces the unwanted effect of breaking wind. The idiom may be applied to any action that might produce an undesirable side effect, such as a hasty decision at a political meeting. As a caution, it suggests the need for leaders to consider all the consequences.

More Examples:

Me ke mo er ker el stoang?

> Which store are you going to?

Aki millengmes er a resensei me a merredel er a skuul.

> We respected the teachers and the school principal.

Ng ko er a mererengang tia el eanged me a kuk mocha metetermokl er a uldesuek el kirem.

> As the sky turns red I am perplexed about my thoughts for you.

Ng mera el soak tia el bilem.

> I so like your dress/shirt.

Di cheloit a sersek me ng kmal klungang a emull er ngii. Ng kirel nglemull.

> My garden has been neglected and has become badly overgrown. It needs to be cleared.

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:

E ng mla er ngii a chebuul el chad el kiliei er ngii el beluu el kmal mle mellomes a rengul me ng mle sebechel el osebelii a beluu, e ng di dimlak a llotkii ngii el chebuul el chad.

> And there was a poor man who lived in that village whose heart was so light that it was his ability to make the town survive, but there wasn't anyone who thought about him.

Kom mla mo meteet?

> Are you already rich?

Ke mla metik er a soam?

> Have you found something you like?

A Toki a mla imiit.

> Toki has given birth.

Ak mla ngmai a klubelek er kau.

> I've learned my lesson from you./I've profited from your experience.

Proverbs:

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.)

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.

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 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 merekakl a tekingel.

> He swallowed his words.

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

More Examples:

Kmal mera el mla mo takai a cheral a dekool.

> Cigarrette prices has gone up a lot.

Ng mera el chituuk mla rullii a umengel a bechil.

> He's very resourceful and made his wife a kitchen.

Ak mla er a Merikel.

> I came from the States.

Ochellek a lilngir a ukedek chelechang mla mechiseksikd.

> My brother borrowed my net and now it's all tangled.

Aki mlo mesauch a buuch er a ked, e aki bong e te mla smauch.

> We went to pick the betelnuts on the hills but when we got there, someone already picked them.

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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