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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:

chelat, v.r.s.smoked (fish).
a
el
er
a
mla
a
See also:
cheliil, v.r.s.waited for; expected.
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kliis, v.r.s.(ground) dug/scratched in (by chicken); opened or unlocked; (clock, watch) wound.
a
mla
a
el
mo
a
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rrar, v.r.s.(food) heated so as not to spoil; (hands, etc.) warmed over or next to fire.
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terrakl, v.r.s.destroyed; broken up; scattered; fraction (in math).
a
mla
a
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ulekingar, v.r.s.seated; appointed.
a
a
el
el
mo
a
a
a
el
a
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ulengemai, v.r.s.carried; transported.
a
mla
a
el
a
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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:

betkaol, v.a.s.is to be helped to carry object.
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chemedongall, v.a.s.are to be welcomed or called together.
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chiudall, v.a.s.is to be twisted or wrung.
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kedelsall, v.a.s.is to be made thicker.
a
el
mo
er
mo
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lechuul, v.a.s.is to be advised/warned.
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smechekill, v.a.s.is to be put in order, corrected or improved.
a
a
a
el
mo
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tongekill, v.a.s.is to be put or thrown up high.
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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
tutkwart on sole of foot; disease of kebui leaves.tutkpointer; pole (for picking fruit).
rirfallen leaves of kebui.merirthe color yellow.
cheballwhite-leafed taro (yautia); gray/white hair.cheballwhite-leafed taro (yautia); gray/white hair.
singodor of sperm.besingsmell of sperm; smell unclean (esp., used in insults referring to women).
kerdikyaws; framboesia.kerdikyaws; framboesia.
tutaumorning; this morning.tutaumorning; this morning.
tutaumorning; this morning.tutaube morning.

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
ulsarech
a
: Palauan of ulsarech a rengul'>
a
(emotions etc.) held in.
sengok
a
: Palauan of sengok a rengul'>
a
curious.
berngel
a
: Palauan of berngel a rengul'>
a
anything discouraging to one's spirit.
mechuached
a
: Palauan of mechuached a rengul'>
a
evil; mean; stubborn.
milkolk
a
: Palauan of milkolk a rengul'>
a
(person is) stupid.
omichoech
a
: Palauan of omichoech a rengul'>
a
(stomach) grumble, talk or gurgle (especially from hunger); (person) feel excited.
mengerar
er
a
: Palauan of mengerar er a rengul '>
er
a
criticise; insult; put down; make someone feel ashamed; hurt someone's feelings.