People, Family Members:

Man

Sechal

Old man

Rubak

Term used for elder male, and title holder

Boy

Buik

Young boy

Woman

Redil

Old woman

Mechas

Term used for elder woman, and title holder

Girl

Ekebil

Young girl

Grandparents

Demal me a delal a demam

Parents of your father

Demal me a delal a delam

Parents of your mother

Parent

Chedam me a chedil

Mother and father. No single word for parent.

Child

Ngalek

1 year old and above

Baby

Tolechoi

Younger than 1 yr. old, or newly born baby.

Sibling

Ochad

Term used for brothers and sisters.

Brothers

Odam

Male siblings

Older brother

Obekul

Older sibling (term used between male sibling only)

Younger brother

Ochellel

Younger siblings (term use between male sibling only)

Sisters

Odos

Girls sibling

Older sister

chudelek

Older Sibling. Term used for female siblings only.

Younger sister

Merrengel

Younger sibling. Term use for  female sibling only

Ochell

Children of female member of a clan. Child related to particular family through mother.

Ulechell

Children of male member of the clan. Child related to particular family through father.

Grandchild

Ngelekel a ngelekel

Children of your children

Nephew

Chebedel a kesol

Nephew or niece of a male

Geneology

Uchelel

Term used for one's lineage.

Palauan Society:

Chiefly class

Meteet

This term is used for wealthy people and people of high clan

Warriors

Chad er a mekemad

People who fight in the war.

Priest

Meluchelechelid

A person who talks to spirits

Expert

Chellimosk

A person who has indepth knowledge of his/her trade

Commoners

Di chad

General term for everyone

Outcasts

meloaoch

Person who does not have a home or village or clan.

Slave

Sibai

This term is also for servant.

Domestic Geography:

House

blai

Term used for house, or dwelling place.

Home

blai

Dwelling place

Stone Platform

odesongel

Raised mound of stone  in front of the house

Food

kall

General term for all the food

Cook

mark

Cooked food or ripe fruit

Oven

Stob

Borrowed word from English ("stove")

Earth oven

Klum

Underground oven, a recently introduced way of cooking

Grass skirt

Cheriut

Skirt made of bark of tree or certain grass

Bark cloth

Usaker

Loin cloth for man

Notes on Pronunciation:

This is a brief outline of some of the spelling and pronunciation issues for Palauan orthography. It should help readers to better pronounce the many Palauan words used in this website. But for a complete discussion, see Josephs (1990: xxxiv-xlv).

• The letters used to spell the consonants are b, t, d, k, ch, s, m, ng, r, and l.

• B is pronounced as b at the beginnings of words and when between two vowels, or before l. Otherwise, it is pronounced as p.

• D is in pronounced like th when between vowels or at the end of a word.

• K, when between vowels, is pronounced more like g.

• Ch is *not* pronounced as "ch," ever. It represents a glottal stop, as in "uh oh." The glottal stop is a letter of equal value to other consonants, as its presence or absence changes the meaning of a word.

• When vowels are doubled, it indicates that the sound is held longer.