mlai, n.canoe; car; automobile; transportation.
mlai
a
olidiuul
er
a
beluu
me
a
daob;
mlai
a
oltak
a
rechad
me
a
uleklool.
mlikn.poss.1s
mlimn.poss.2s
mliln.poss.3s
mlil
a
mlai
er
ngii
el
chad.
mlimamn.poss.1pe
mlidn.poss.1pi
mlimiun.poss.2p
mlirirn.poss.3p
blil a mlaiexpr.garage.
mlai er a Siabalexpr.Japanese car.
Examples:
Ng
sebechek
el
longir
a
mlim?
> May I borrow your car?
Ng
mla
mecherar
a
mlil
meng
di
chelitang
kung
a
rrat
er
ngii.
> He's bought his car so he's bicycle is now left unused.
Ng
kmal
di
mle
ta
a
klungiolel
el
mlai.
> They were all canoes of equivalent quality.
Ak
di
olteterau
a
iasai
e
mecherar
a
mlik.
> I'm just selling vegetables a little at a time, and then I'll (be able to) buy my car.
A
Droteo
a
tilechelii
a
mlik.
> Droteo('s car) hit my car.
Proverbs:
Ng
ko
er
a
chad
er
a
Ngerechemai,
el
metom
er
a
uel
el
metom
er
a
mlai.
> Like the man of Ngerechemai, who lost his turtle and lost his canoe.
Relates to a fisherman who jumped from his canoe to catch a turtle only to find that his canoe had drifted beyond recovery. Applies to any situation where a person fails at a task, or, aptly, to a situation where a man, through his own foolishness, loses both his wife and his mistress.
Ng
ko
er
a
omelkesel
Ngirakerisil,
el
di
diak
lecheldereder
a
mlil.
> Like Kerosene, poling his canoe with no obvious destination
Under the German administrator Winkler before World War I, a Palauan named Ngirakerisil (Mr. Kerosene) was employed as a canoe operator. Daily he would take the tireless administrator to a different part of Palau to inspect the various economic programs (largely coconut planting) instituted by the now legendary Winkler. The operator, least of all, could predict where they would be going next. The idiom is applied to any aimless person or action; indecision; a changeable person.
Lak
bo
mua
chad
er
a
Ngerchemai
el
miltom
er
a
uel
el
metom
ra
mlai.
> Don't be like the man from Ngerchemai who lost both the turtle and the canoe.
Don't bite off more than you can chew...don't be selfish.
More Examples:
Ke
meduch
el
omekall
a
mlai?
> Do you know how to drive a car?
Ng
ua
ngerang
a
bedengel
a
mlim?
Ng
mellemau
adang
ng
bekerkard?
> What is the color of your car? is it blue? or is it red?
Ng
mla
ngmasech
er
a
mlai
e
merael
mo
er
a
kmung
ker.
> He climbed into the car and went I don't know where.
A
sechelil
a
sechelik
a
miltuchel
er
a
mlai.
Kmal
ngeltengat
el
dimlak
lemad.
> My friend's friend got hit by a car. She is so lucky she didn't die.
A
mlik
a
lilengir
a
tonari
er
ngak
e
nguu
el
tuchelii
a
iedel.
> My neighbor borrowed my car and drove it into a mango tree.

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