Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

Ke ua ngarang?

, expr.

How are you?

mellemau

, v.s.

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

ngera
/ngerang
/ngarang
/ngara

, pro.

what; which; what kind of; anything (but or except).
ngerang a ker; ngera ke melekoi? tia ng ngerang? ngera soam?

ng diak a ngerang

pro.

nothing.

ua ngarang

pro.

how.

ngera me

expr.

why? for what reason?

ngera ngar ngii

expr.

what's up? what's happening?

ngera uchul me

expr.

why? for what reason?

Examples:

Ngara a chedum?

> What's your religion?/What god do you worship?

Ngara me ke di mekekokau el merael?

> Why are you walking so slowly?

Ng ua ngara omelechesel tia el tekoi?

> How do you spell/right this word?

Ng ngera a uchul me ng di mle kau el tang el me er tiang?

> Why did you come here all by yourself?

Ng dimlak a ngara el kulekoi.

> I didn't have anything to say.

Proverbs:

Ngara eseos e olengimch el mera dalm.

> 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 osechel amengur, el di ngara milkokl el mora milkolk

> Like coconut water, passing from darkness to darkness.

Water, drunk from a coconut, passes from the dark of the nut to the dark of the mouth. Some discussions, such as those of village leaders, are secretively passed from mouth to mouth without public discussion.

More Examples:

Ng ua ngara a bul a iedel?

> What does mango smell like?

Ngerang me ke di mengisngull?

> Why are you frowning all the time?

Te ngera ngemuu rrikl?

> Who's making all the commotion outside?

Ailechang ngarang?

> What are those?

Ng ngara ke milengang?

> What did you eat?

omerrous

, v.t.

dream about.
omerrous a berrusel; merrusii a mla mad el demal; merrous a meklou el blai.

ua
/uai

, mod.

like; as.
ua a ko er a; ua medal a demal; chad er a Belau e ua bedengel a chad er a ngebard.

uaisei

cont.

ua se

ua se
/uai sei

expr.

like that.

Synonyms: ,

Examples:

E le a rechad a diak lsal mellomes a rengrir el ua a recharm.

> Because humans aren't as smart as animals.

Ng ua ngara a mekldebengir?

> How short are they?

Ak moalech el ua chudel.

> I wither like grass.

Ng ua ngara a chetul a blim?

> What's the condition of your house?

Ng ua ngara a blekerdelel a urerem?

> How are your working conditions?

Proverbs:

Lak bom ua chad era Ngerchemai el miltom ra uel el metom ra mlai.

> Don't be like the man from Ngerchemai who lost both the turtle and the canoe.

Don't bite off more than you can chew...don't be selfish.

A ungil el merreder a ua chull el melemedem er a daob.

> A good leader is like rain that calms the ocean.

He can calm down disputes and settle problems easily.

Ng ua kukau el omertort a ditel e chemoes.

> Like taro, though the leaves are tall, still immature.

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is mature only when the leaves produced by the plant are small. When the plant produces its largest leaves the tuber in the ground is still quite small. The saying may be applied to a person who, while yet young and inexperienced, is proud and boastful.

Ng ua beab el mngard.

> Nibbling like a rat.

Activity that slowly destroys another person or institution. Generally applied to verbal actions; spreading malicious gossip; a speech loaded with subtle insults. However, it can be applied to wider behavior such as economic behavior that destroys the resources of the country: killing fish by dynamite; cutting forests without planting

Ng di ua dorael er a medal a oles.

> It's as if we were walking on the blade of a knife.

i.e., we're treading on dangerous ground; if we make one wrong move, we're finished.

More Examples:

Ng mle ua ngara kall?

> How was the food ?

Ng mle ua ngara siou?

> How was the movie?

Ng mle ua ngerang a cherellem?

> How was your labor?

Ng sebechek el olturk e bo kultuil, ng ua ksal ko er a mesululang.

> May I be excused and go to bed, feeling a bit sleepy.

Ak mesisiich. E kau a ua ngarang?

> I'm fine. How are you?

Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

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