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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:

bloech, v.r.s.(long object) thrown.
a
mla
a
er
a
a
a
See also:
chelsureor, v.r.s.cooked with coconut syrup.
a
mla
a
er
a
See also:
keltkat, v.r.s.(wound) irritated.
a
a
a
See also:
nglidel, v.r.s.lifted out of water.
a
mla
a
a
bub
a
See also:
ulengmongm, v.r.s.lowered slowly and carefully.
a
mla
a
er
a
a
See also:
ultamet, v.r.s.pulled at; drawn tight or taut.
a
mla
ert
a
el
mla
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:

idesall, v.a.s.(fruit) is to be pared or shredded.
a
el
a
a
er
See also:
kekerongel, v.a.s.is to be watched over or guided.
a
el
er
me
lak
le
a
a
a
a
See also:
kimungall, v.a.s.(person) is to have head shaven.
a
el
a
el
mo
a
See also:
kingall, v.a.s.is to be sat upon.
See also:
tebidal, v.a.s.(lantern etc.) is to be turned on
tetengall, v.a.s.is to be widened or opened wide.
a
mo
a
a
See also:
uduudel, v.a.s.is to be given money or paid.
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
brakgiant yellow swamp taro.brakgiant yellow swamp taro.
olechutellarge bamboo raftolechutel(boat, person) slow-moving
oreomelforest; woods.chereomeloreomel
diablongdevil.diablongterrible; awful; (person) evil.
bsibsdrill; termite.tereblsibsfull of holes.
beraomfish kept until slightly spoiled and then wrapped and barbequed.beraomfish kept until slightly spoiled and then wrapped and barbequed.
siktcluster/bunch of fruit.mesiktbe in a cluster (used only in mesikt el btuch).

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
melemedem
er
a
: Palauan of melemedem er a rengul'>
er
a
cool down one's anger.
seitak
a
: Palauan of seitak a rengul'>
a
(person is) very choosy; picky.
mengesib
er
a
: Palauan of mengesib er a rengul '>
er
a
get someone angry.
chelimimuul
a
: Palauan of chelimimuul a rengul'>
a
chelimimii a rengul
kesib
a
: Palauan of kesib a rengul'>
a
angry.
Rengulbai : Palauan of Rengulbai'> title of chiefs in Imeliik.
moalech
a
: Palauan of moalech a rengul'>
a
disappointed; dismayed.


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