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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:

blech, v.r.s.connected.
a
mla
did
a
See also:
blii, v.r.s.divided; distributed; separated from each other; (hair) parted.
See also:
blukel, v.r.s.cut or pushed down.
a
mla
a
a
See also:
chelisngekl, v.r.s.(head) turned to look.
See also:
delik, v.r.s.supported; propped up; placed in a particular location.
a
mla
e
a
a
er
a
er
a
a
a
er
a
a
tet
er
a
er
a
til
er
a
See also:
deloko, v.r.s.blown out; inflated; smoked; puffed.
a
mla
a
er
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:

 

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:

bdesall, v.a.s.is to be thrown hard/pushed away.
a
el
a
See also:
lecheluchel, v.a.s.is to be sawed.
a
See also:
oisechall, v.a.s.is to be shown or instructed.
a
el
a
el
See also:
ruaol, v.a.s.is to be collected or gathered
a
el
a
See also:
semesmochel, v.a.s.is to be bidden farewell or given divorce payment; is to be refused gracefully.
See also:
utechedall, v.a.s.(spearhead) is to have barbs made; is to be jerked or pulled.
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
chaziflavor, taste.chaziflavor, taste.
bengtpurple colored sweet potato.bengtpurple colored sweet potato.
riamelfootball fruit (Pangi; Payan).bekeriamelsmell like football fruit; sweaty; have a strong body odor (especially, as result of diet or poor hygiene).
mbesaoldrool; spittle.mbesaoldrool; spittle.
chimhand; arm; front paws (of animal); help; assistance; manual labor; person sent to help.chimhand; arm; front paws (of animal); help; assistance; manual labor; person sent to help.
semumtrochus.semumtrochus.
mechasold woman; titled woman; foreign woman; male's father's sisters; girlfriend; wife.mechasget blackened with soot or ink; (pot) get burned or discolored.

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
ulsarech
a
: Palauan of ulsarech a rengul'>
a
(emotions etc.) held in.
betik
er
a
: Palauan of betik er a rengul'>
er
a
one's beloved.
mekngit
er
a
: Palauan of mekngit er a rengul'>
er
a
not good for; not all right with.
olsarech
er
a
: Palauan of olsarech er a rengul'>
er
a
hold in or control emotions, anger etc.
sisiokel
a
: Palauan of sisiokel a rengul'>
a
fastidious; particular.
turk
a
: Palauan of turk a rengul'>
a
turk
meleolt
a
: Palauan of meleolt a rengul'>
a
(person) carefree or nonchalant; (person) not easily disturbed or content to let things happen as they may.


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