Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

di

, mod.

only; just; any.
di a olkael; di kau a mei e diak a ngodech; di tedei el buik a mong; se di kau, se di ngii.

el di mle ngii

expr.

all by himself; on his own.

ngii di lebong

expr.

whatever it is; whatever there may be.

Examples:

Ng mo menged a rechelel a ngii di el kerrekar a Droteo?

> Is Droteo going to cut off branches from a tree?

A di kkilungii a renguk el telkib el meketeket e ng ultebechel el ngar er ngii a mo ungil el kudesuii.

> Whenever I was just patient and waited for a little while, I was certain to have a good idea.

Ngara me ke di tengdel?

> Why are you so skinny?

Ng diak be mrei el di merekmo a chobetik er ngii.

> Don't return until you've found her.

A klungem a di omeka a klebesei.

> You're getting bigger every day.

Proverbs:

A remeteet a ko er a redechel a bngaol el di ruebet e oulkou.

> Those of high family are like the seed pod of the bngaol tree, which falls with its leafy cap upright.

The bngaol, a mangrove tree, bears a long pod which is sharply pointed on one end and has a leafy "cap" on the other. When it falls from the tree it generally lands standing in the mud with "cap" end up. Hence, the quality of being socially elite (meteet) is gained naturally at birth. One is born in good standing with a cap or insignia of high rank. It follows, then, that the elite need not display their high standing, everyone knows they are elite when they are born (and there is no other way to become elite). Going a step further, the elite may display proper humility and refer to a group including themselves as kid a remechebuul (we commoners).

Ng ko er a omenga el Raus, el sosokod e di keang.

> It's like the way they eat in Ngeraus (where food is scarce): as soon as they get to like or enjoy the food, it's gone.

Just as something becomes popular, it becomes unavailable. Ngerraus is a small village in Ngchesar (central Palau). The idiom suggests a person who begins to feel hungry just as the food runs out. The reference is to the meager food resources of a small village. In contemporary Palau the idiom may be applied to some popular import that soon disappears from the shelves of the stores.

Ng ko er a kim er a Murael, el di dengarech e oker a chais.

> She's like the clams at Murael, lying face up (and open) and asking for news.

i.e., she just sits at home asking passersby about what's going on outside. Murael is a reef near Ngerechelong where, as elsewhere in Palau, the various kinds of tradacna shell bask, open and feeding, in the shallow lagoon. The saying applies to gullibility combined with high curiosity for news and to persons who simply sit at home, letting the happenings of the community come to them via passing persons.

Ng ko er a omelkesel Ngirakerisil, el di diak lecheldereder a mlil.

> Like Kerosene, poling his canoe with no obvious destination

Under the German administrator Winkler before World War I, a Palauan named Ngirakerisil (Mr. Kerosene) was employed as a canoe operator. Daily he would take the tireless administrator to a different part of Palau to inspect the various economic programs (largely coconut planting) instituted by the now legendary Winkler. The operator, least of all, could predict where they would be going next. The idiom is applied to any aimless person or action; indecision; a changeable person.

Ke ko er a cherabrukl el di blsiochel e reborb.

> You're just like a lobster (flambuoyant in color but prone to hide under rocks.

You dress up fancy but never go anywhere. Applicable to a person who prides himself on great wealth but does not put it to work; or to one who dresses to the hilt, then stays home. It may once have been applied to villages that were well armed, but peaceful.

More Examples:

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.

Ochoi, se er a tutau el me er elechang el di lechull.

> Yes, it's been raining since morning.

Aki kmal ko er a mle ungil merael e di mle kiul kisbekl el metengel er a dobu er a mlai el lilengelakl el kmal bekerurt.

> We were walking fine on the road until a really fast car sped by that abruptly forced us into a ditch.

Aika el medam e Ngerkumer ngerang meng di ombesisebusech?

> Why are Ngerkumer's eyes blinking so much?

Seselk a renguk el orrenges er tirka el chad er a balatiks te di mesaod a selaod, e ng di soak el di mo omengur.

> I don't want to go listen to the politicians speak because they're so boring and talk forever but I wouldn't mind just going to eat the food.

medengei

, v.s.t.

know (person or thing); understand; memorize.
medengei a ngar er ngii a klaodengei er ngii; medengelii a tekoi.

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
/memong

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:

Bo er a skuul me mlengir a oriik.

> Go to school and borrow a broom.

Me a rechad er a blil me a beluu a ko er a kmal mlo mechas a rengrir, e le ngika el buik a kmal mesisiich el diak a meringel er ngii.

> His family and the villagers were quite surprised at the boy's sudden good health and quick recovery.

Be mtab mo omengur.

> Come on in for a bit and eat.

Ak kmal sekkak el me el melai er kau, e kau a chetim.

> I've gone to all this trouble to come and get you, and (now) you don't want (to go).

Kau, ngara me ke ko er a ouchedeng er kau?

> Why are you doing mischief in you own house?

Proverbs:

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.

Ngara eseos e olengimech el mera dalem.

> From the mature tree the sapling dribbles.

Eseos is a mature tree, dalm is a sapling; olengimch means to drip, drizzle, or dribble. Application is to the similarity of the child to its parents, generally its father.

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 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:

Be mngai a buk er kemiu

> Сome and get your books

Ng ngar er ngii a kllolem el tebel me a kleai el kingall.

> There are 6 tables and 8 chairs.

Ng ulemdasu el kmo ng sebechel mengchii a luk e di lmuk er ngak, me ak di liluk er ngii.

> He thought he could give me the silent treatment so I ignored him.

Ng teruich me a elolem a rekik.

> I'm sixteen years old.

Ngka el bechik a mera el meduch el meloik.

> My wife is a good dancer.

Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

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