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:
Ak
milsa
a
mlai
el
ldilsechii
tirke
el
chad.
> I saw the canoe that those men carved.
A
mlai
a
silbechii
er
a
dengkibasira.
> The car hit the telephone pole.
A
kmu
ng
ngar
er
ngii
a
ududek,
e
ak
mecherar
a
bechel
el
mlai.
> If I had money, (then) I'd buy a new car.
A
Ioseb
a
ulemekall
er
a
mlil
el
mo
er
aike
el
stoang.
> Joseph drove his car to those stores.
A
rubak
a
olsisechakl
er
a
buik
el
melasech
a
mlai.
> The old man is teaching the boy how to carve canoes.
Proverbs:
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.
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.
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.
More Examples:
A
bechil
a
sechelik
a
diak
lesebechel
el
omekall
a
mlai
er
chelechang.
> My friend's wife can't drive now.
Ng
tuobed
a
cherik
el
tirka
el
chad
er
a
kabelment,
aika
el
mlai
lomekall
a
rengrir
klokir
a
bedengir.
> I'm smirking at the people working for the government, do they think they own these government vehicles when they're behind the wheels.
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.
A
Luke
a
silebedak
el
kmo
ng
mla
er
ngii
a
mlai
er
a
rikl.
> Luke told me there was a car outside.
Ke
meduch
el
omekall
a
mlai?
> Do you know how to drive a car?

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