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Palauan Adjectives

The following is a brief discussion about Palauan adjectives. For a longer exploration, please refer to discussions of state verbs in the Joseph Handbooks. According to the official Lewis Joseph grammar book of Palauan, there are no Palauan parts of speech called adjectives. However, Palauan does, of course, have words used to describe other words. In English, we call these words adjectives. Examples of English adjectives are dangerous, beautiful, and hot.

Palauan Resulting State Verbs

In Palauan, words corresponding to English adjectives are called state verbs. There are several types of Palauan state verbs. The most common are resulting state verbs which occur as a result of a verb. Some examples:

Here is a list of seven random Palauan verbs and their resulting state verbs:

chelas, v.r.s.blackened with soot or ink; (pot) burned or discolored.
a
mla
a
See also:
chelderoder, v.r.s.put together or into order; arranged.
a
mla
a
a
el
See also:
chelert, v.r.s.defecated on.
a
mla
er
a
er
See also:
chellungel, v.r.s.carried (off) on the shoulders; carrying someone or something on the shoulders.
a
mla
a
a
See also:
rruu, v.r.s.collected; gathered.
a
mla
a
el
See also:

 

Palauan Anticipating State Verbs

Anticipating state verbs in Palauan are like resulting state verbs. However, instead of describing the state of something after a verb has modified it, these describe the state of something before a verb is anticipated to modify it. Here's seven random Anticipating State Verbs:

chebengall, v.a.s.is to have someone facing towards him, her or it.
See also:
chesbedengall, v.a.s.(face) is to be slapped.
a
el
le
a
See also:
ngedall, v.a.s.is to be seen/sent off; is to be returned/sent back; (bride) is to be brought to prospective husband's family.
a
er
a
a
a
a
el
See also:
odekedekall, v.a.s.is to be chased or run after; is to be caught with or fought (with).
a
el
el
a
See also:
oibekall, v.a.s.is to be broken or smashed through.
a
el
er
a
a
See also:
sechesall, v.a.s.is to be pecked at.
See also:
sersall, v.a.s.is to be shaken out.
See also:

 

State Verbs with Related Nouns

In English, a common thing to do is to ask 'how XXXX is something,' where XXXX is an adjective. For example, 'how hot is that,' or 'how dangerous is that,' are common English expressions.

This is true in Palauan as well in a form like, 'ng uangarang a kleldelel,' which translates literally perhaps to something like, 'it is like what, its heat,' or figuratively as, 'how hot is it.' The word kleldelel is a possessed noun meaning 'its heat.' See the nouns page for a longer explanation of possessed nouns.

Many of these Palauan nouns have related state verbs which translate to, and are used as, English adjectives. Here is a list of seven random Palauan nouns along with their corresponding state verbs.

Palauan_NounEngish_NounPalauan_AdjEnglish_Adj
brotechclapping; wooden paddle used as war weapon; applause; praise.bekebrotechprone to slapping.
tebekbukrayfish.tebekbuk(skin of shin) rough.
chullrain; rainy season.chullrainy.
siktcluster/bunch of fruit.mesiktbe in a cluster (used only in mesikt el btuch).
burekswelling.oburekget dyed or stained with color.
smuuchscorpion fish (hardly moves in water).smuuchscorpion fish (hardly moves in water).
chermallhibiscus (bark used as a rope; leaves used as mulch for taro).chermallPalauan money in form of green or blue glass beads.

Reng Idioms as Adjectives

There are many Palauan expressions which use a state verb to describe the Palauan word reng which means spirit or heart. These are idioms which mean their literal and figurative meanings are not the same. Typically, but not always, the figurative meaning describes an emotion. An example is kesib a reng, which literally means a sweaty heart but figuratively it means to be angry. Here is a list of seven random examples of these reng idioms:

PalauanEnglish
mekurt
a
: Palauan of mekurt a rengul'>
a
(someone's) feelings hurt.
olturk
a
: Palauan of olturk a rengul'>
a
satiate; make someone give up (from fatigue); get one's fill of; insult continuously or mercilessly; let someone really have it.
mengesib
er
a
: Palauan of mengesib er a rengul '>
er
a
get someone angry.
bltkil
a
: Palauan of bltkil a rengul'>
a
one's affection/concern for.
ouralmesils
a
: Palauan of ouralmesils a rengul'>
a
weak-willed.
smecher
a
: Palauan of smecher a rengul'>
a
homesick.
kersos
a
: Palauan of kersos a rengul'>
a
yearning; anxious (to see).


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