For a more thorough discussion of Palauan parts of speech, please refer to:
The following is a simple list of the Palauan parts of speech with brief descriptions and an example
word for each one.
| Type | Explanation | Example | Definition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | aux. | auxiliary | mo | will; shall; become; get. |
| 2 | aux.past. | auxiliary past tense | mlo | became; got. |
| 3 | baby | a baby word | chochchong | bathe. |
| 4 | conj. | a conjuction | a leko | intended to; apparently. |
| 5 | cont. | a contraction | kerdi | kede di |
| 6 | interj. | interjection | briid | an act of scattering. |
| 7 | mod. | modifier | a | if; when. Also, used as a contentless word which precedes nouns and verbs under various conditions. |
| 8 | n. | noun | bakutsi | gambling; "twenty one" (card game). |
| 9 | n.a.s. | anticipating state noun | uduudel | pay day; person to be paid; wage earner. |
| 10 | n.a.s.poss.3s | an anticipating state noun possessed by a single person, animal, or thing | ongellel | the fruit on a tree that is to fall or to be caused to fall. |
| 11 | n.a.s.redup. | a reduplicated anticipating state noun | kerrekeriil | trial; judgement. |
| 12 | n.act. | action noun | omelatk | action of remembering. |
| 13 | n.instr. | instrument noun | ochadu | instrument to cut with; scissors; tongs. |
| 14 | n.pl. | plural noun | ruchad | siblings of opposite sex; related persons of opposite sex. |
| 15 | n.poss.1pe | a noun possessed by the speaker and perhaps others, but not the listener | bngam | our (exclusive) trap (usually for fish). |
| 16 | n.poss.1pi | a noun possessed by the speaker and the listener and perhaps others | bud | our (inclusive) smell/odor/scent. |
| 17 | n.poss.1s | a noun possessed by the speaker | buk | my smell; my odor; my scent. |
| 18 | n.poss.2p | a noun possessed by multiple listeners | cheremiu | your (plural) prices or costs. |
| 19 | n.poss.2s | a noun possessed by a single listener | bngam | your (singular) flower, green coconut sheath, etc. |
| 20 | n.poss.3p | a noun possessed by multiple people | cherrir | their prices or costs. |
| 21 | n.poss.3s | noun possesed by a single person | delemel | (action of) planting. |
| 22 | n.r.s. | resulting state noun | delengmes | act of respecting/honoring someone. |
| 23 | n.r.s.poss.3s | a resulting state noun possessed by a single person, animal, or thing | blsechel | its time or occasion of an event. |
| 24 | n.r.s.redup. | a reduplicated resulting state noun | delmedimech | large amount of dots or spots. |
| 25 | n.redup. | noun reduplicated | bedebedechakl | sooty tern (swoops down to surface of water to catch fish). |
| 26 | n.res. | a residual noun; something formed residually after an action | ulelbongel | dirtied water after washing dishes. |
| 27 | num. | number | chimo | 1 [one] (animal; nonliving thing). |
| 28 | prefix | a word stem that modifies another word by being added to the front of it | ki- | we (excluding you) (second person plural exclusive affix). |
| 29 | pro. | pronoun | aika | these objects/animals near speaker and near listener. |
| 30 | ques. | question word | ngerrach | what is it? |
| 31 | suffix | a word stem that modifies another word by being added to the back of it | -ed | our (including you). |
| 32 | v.a.s. | anticipating state verb | chetongel | is to be praised. |
| 33 | v.a.s.redup. | a reduplicated anticipating state verb | dengdengechel | (someone's status) is to be pointed out/questioned. |
| 34 | v.caus. | causative verb | orrechorech | (make) (ship, etc.) sink. |
| 35 | v.caus.inch. | an inchoative causative verb | oldiong | is beginning to shout. |
| 36 | v.caus.redup. | a reduplicated causative verb | oldekdak | put (different items) all together. |
| 37 | v.erg. | ergative verb | mengai | get brought/taken; lose baby; have miscarriage. |
| 38 | v.erg.inch. | an inchoactive ergative verb | metudang | is beginning to get cut; (time) is approaching; often used in expressions to signify that morning or evening is coming. |
| 39 | v.erg.past | a past-tense form on an ergative verb | milecheed | got/became stuck. |
| 40 | v.erg.recip.redup. | a reciprocated, ergative verb | kabdebid | get caught or twisted on each other. |
| 41 | v.erg.redup. | reduplicated ergative verb | mechemecham | easily broken; fragile. |
| 42 | v.i. | intransitive verb | bakuhats | explode. |
| 43 | v.i.inch. | inchoative instransitive verb | dokngei | is getting together. |
| 44 | v.i.pred. | predictive instransitive verb | merekung | is about to come or arrive. |
| 45 | v.i.redup. | intransitive verb reduplicated | medidelangel | cry lightly. |
| 46 | v.imp. | imperative verb | Molangch! | Guess!. |
| 47 | v.imp.3pi | imperative verb suggesting a collective activity with both the speaker and listener(s) | dorael | let's go. |
| 48 | v.inch. | inchoative verb | medei | is starting to die or go out. |
| 49 | v.past | a past-tense of a verb | mlei | came; arrived. |
| 50 | v.pf.3p.human | a perfective verb operating on multiple people | tokingiterir | talk to people for purpose of discipline or persuasion. |
| 51 | v.pf.3p.inan.past | a perfective verb which happened in the past to multiple objects | milliik | picked (coconuts). |
| 52 | v.pf.3s | a perfective verb acting on a single person | obang | carry; hold; take. |
| 53 | v.pf.3s.past | a perfective verb which happened in the past to a single person, animal, or thing | chiltengii | praised (him/her/it). |
| 54 | v.pf.inch. | a perfective inchoative verb | cholbediang | beginning to hit. |
| 55 | v.pred. | a predictive verb | medkung | is about to die or go out. |
| 56 | v.r.s. | a resulting state verb | chelat | praised. |
| 57 | v.r.s.redup. | a reduplicated resulting state verb | teleteu | opened rather wide; unfinished. |
| 58 | v.r.s.t. | a resulting transitive state verb | kluoku | carrying; cradling. |
| 59 | v.recip. | a reciprocal verb | chachat | praise each other. |
| 60 | v.recip.redup. | a reciprocal, reduplicated, verb | kangebengubet | free each other of blame; take off (clothes; etc) together; take off (each other's) clothes. |
| 61 | v.redup. | a reduplicated verb | mechechelchold | keep farting. |
| 62 | v.s. | a state verb | chull | rainy. |
| 63 | v.s.inch. | a state inchoative verb | chellang | is getting rainy. |
| 64 | v.s.inch.redup | a reduplicated inchoative state vert | mediditang | is just getting dry. |
| 65 | v.s.pl. | a state verb describing multiple people, animals, or objects | mekesai | insufficient; not enough; few (when describing multiple objects, people, etc.). |
| 66 | v.s.pred. | a predictive state verb | cherechesung | (tide) is about to start falling. |
| 67 | v.s.redup. | a reduplicated state verb | chubchub | merciful; compassionate; feeling pity for others; sympathetic; emphathetic. |
| 68 | v.s.redup.inch. | a reduplicated inchoative state verb | mekekedeang | becoming itchy or horny. |
| 69 | v.s.t. | transitive state verb | mekii | be disgusted, sickened or repelled by. |
| 70 | v.s.t.inch. | inchoative transitive state verb | medechang | is getting to know how (to); is becoming skilled. |
| 71 | v.s.t.redup. | a reduplicated transitive state verb | mererur | rather ashamed/afraid of. |
| 72 | v.t. | a transitive verb | chemat | praise; admire. |
| 73 | v.t.inch. | an inchoative transitive verb | omechelang | is (just) beginning. |
| 74 | v.t.pred. | a predictive transitive verb | mochu merek | is about to finish. |
| 75 | v.t.redup. | a transitive verb reduplicated | meltelatk | think about continually. |
| 76 | var. | a variant spelling and pronounciation of another word | chubkii | chubur |