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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:

chelsimer, v.r.s.closed; confined; locked in (e.g., as punishment).
a
le
le
a
mla
er
a
See also:
rremech, v.r.s.squeezed (out); clutched; grasped.
a
mla
a
a
See also:
ulekedelad, v.r.s.carried or transmitted with care; (person or animal) spoiled.
a
el
el
a
el
a
mla
See also:
ulengmongm, v.r.s.lowered slowly and carefully.
a
mla
a
er
a
a
See also:
ulsaso, v.r.s.obtained through barter or trade.
a
mla
mla
a
a
a
See also:
ulteremed, v.r.s.pressed down; crushed.
a
mla
el
a
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:

chesbungel, v.a.s.is to be scooped or spooned out.
See also:
ngetachel, v.a.s.is to be cleaned, scrubbed or washed.
a
el
a
See also:
ongektall, v.a.s.is to be carried or transported.
See also:
rekiaol, v.a.s.is to be finished (completely).
a
el
a
di
See also:
techull, v.a.s.is to be carried on the head.
a
el
a
er
a
a
See also:
tingetall, v.a.s.is to be plugged up.
a
el
a
See also:
uchelall, v.a.s.is to be started or begun.
a
el
a
a
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
mechasold woman; titled woman; foreign woman; male's father's sisters; girlfriend; wife.mechasold woman; titled woman; foreign woman; male's father's sisters; girlfriend; wife.
tutkwart on sole of foot; disease of kebui leaves.tutk (kebui leaves) diseased.
beraomfish kept until slightly spoiled and then wrapped and barbequed.beraom (fish) slightly spoiled.
kldolsfatness; thickness.kedols(round object) fat, thick or wide. Commonly used to describe betelnuts and coconuts.
baikingdisease; germs.baiking(person) unsanitary/unhygienic (in one's habits).
tutkwart on sole of foot; disease of kebui leaves.tutkwart on sole of foot; disease of kebui leaves.
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
merirem
er
a
: Palauan of merirem er a rengul'>
er
a
hurt someone's feelings.
mesubed
a
: Palauan of mesubed a rengul'>
a
accept; be resigned to; learn a lesson; learn from experience.
mesaul
a
: Palauan of mesaul a rengul'>
a
not feel like.
becheremremangel
a
: Palauan of becheremremangel a rengul'>
a
greedy; stingy.
menglou
er
a
: Palauan of menglou er a rengul'>
er
a
try to make (someone, oneself) patient; assure; take edge of one's hunger.
omeksebek
er
a
: Palauan of omeksebek er a rengul'>
er
a
worry (deliberately).
komeklii
a
: Palauan of komeklii a rengul'>
a
(person) controlling themselves; (person) holding their tongue.


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