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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:

chelerrungel, v.r.s.made whole; completed; perfected.
a
mla
mla
mo
er
a
a
See also:
delebekekl, v.r.s.(house) having had roof or overhang lengthened.
See also:
delidiich, v.r.s.shined upon; lighted up.
a
mla
a
me
a
er
a
er
See also:
delsbai, v.r.s.spat out or at.
a
mla
mla
a
a
a
a
See also:
rrus, v.r.s.pierced; stabbed; injected; inoculated.
a
mla
a
er
a
a
See also:
ulchelucheb, v.r.s.(cooking food) covered with leaf, bag, etc.
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:

berkall, v.a.s.is to be spread or stretched out or propagated.
See also:
iuekill, v.a.s.is to be surrounded by.
a
el
a
er
a
See also:
orebatel, v.a.s.is to be cut down (to size).
a
See also:
sisall, v.a.s.is to be deloused.
a
el
a
a
kud
er
See also:
smengtall, v.a.s.is to be cemented.
a
el
a
See also:
tetael, v.a.s.is to be pounded.
a
el
a
a
er
a
See also:
tochall, v.a.s.is to be pre-chewed.
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
cheludechwooden float for fish net; light weight wood used to make corks.cheludech(wood) dried out (and light in weight).
chellingsclearness; transparency; purity; pristine condition.mechellings(liquid, glass, etc.) clear or transparent.
techiirhandnet with handle; cloth or screen for pressing coconut milk; sheath at base of coconut frond (used for pressing coconut milk).mekudem a techerel(person who) understands or catches everything.
choalechsea urchin.choalechsea urchin.
bobaipapaya tree (including fruit).bobaidull; slow-witted.
tutkwart on sole of foot; disease of kebui leaves.tutk (kebui leaves) diseased.
burekswelling.oburekget dyed or stained with color.

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
merirem
er
a
: Palauan of merirem er a rengul'>
er
a
hurt someone's feelings.
betachel
a
: Palauan of betachel a rengul'>
a
is to be pleased/satisfied/appeased; content.
ngellitel
a
: Palauan of ngellitel a rengul'>
a
choosy.
obais
a
: Palauan of obais a rengul'>
a
get fed up with; become unable to cope with.
keremerem
a
: Palauan of keremerem a rengul'>
a
stupid; ignorant.
merael
a
: Palauan of merael a rengul'>
a
indecisive.
tuobed
a
: Palauan of tuobed a rengul'>
a
one's real feelings come out.


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