Animals

1. charm

   Animal

   Usage

   The general word for animal; "chermek" is my pet

2. bilis

   Dog

   Usage

   Said to come from Phyllis, a dog on Captain Wilson's ship; "omangch" is the verb for being bitten

3. katuu

   Cat

   Usage

   Use it for a guesthouse or shop cat

4. babii

   Pig

   Usage

   The centrepiece of a celebration; pork is the festive dish in Palau

5. malk

   Chicken

   Usage

   A domestic chicken is "malkeblai"; the wild red junglefowl is "malkureomel"

6. debar

   Duck

   Usage

   Covers ducks in general

7. kerebou

   Cow / carabao

   Usage

   Also used for beef and corned beef; it appears on the nature card too

8. kaming

   Goat

   Usage

   Kept on the islands

9. uos

   Horse

   Usage

   Borrowed from English "horse"

10. ngikel

    Fish

    Usage

    The same word as on the nature card; a school of fish is "delebechel el ngikel"

11. chedeng

    Shark

    Usage

    It comes up in every dive briefing; Palau created the world's first shark sanctuary

12. mesekiu

    Dugong

    Usage

    An iconic and critically endangered Palauan animal, carved into the national emblem

13. demul

    Dolphin

    Usage

    Seen from boats

14. uel

    Turtle

    Usage

    Its shell was worked into traditional women's money; now protected, so do not buy shell souvenirs

15. ius

    Crocodile

    Usage

    Saltwater crocodiles really do live in the mangroves — follow local advice before kayaking

16. bidabd

    Jellyfish

    Usage

    The word also covers stinging jellyfish; follow the rules when visiting Jellyfish Lake

17. chemang

    Mangrove crab

    Usage

    The large sea and mangrove crab; a staple of Palauan cooking

18. ketat

    Coconut crab

    Usage

    A large land crab; overharvesting means there are size and season limits

19. rekung

    Land crab

    Usage

    Seen in the forest and along roads

20. bechei

    Land snake

    Usage

    A land snake; "bersoech" is another word for one

21. kemairs

    Sea snake

    Usage

    Seen while diving — do not touch

22. berebur

    Gecko / lizard

    Usage

    The small lizard that runs around indoors

23. beab

    Rat / mouse

    Usage

    Rodents in general

24. rekas

    Mosquito

    Usage

    A mosquito coil is "sengko" (from Japanese "senko") and a net is "uuked"

25. bechars

    Cockroach

    Usage

    Use it when reporting the state of a room

26. chedib

    Ant (small black)

    Usage

    A red stinging ant is "bembangch" and a large red ant is "chetor" — Palauan names them separately

27. hats

    Bee / wasp

    Usage

    Borrowed from Japanese "hachi"; the stingless native Palauan honey bee is "chelakngikl"

28. bubuu

    Spider

    Usage

    You will walk into their webs on forest paths

29. dechedech

    Frog / toad

    Usage

    Includes the introduced marine toad

30. sikou

    Monkey

    Usage

    The crab-eating macaque; an introduced troop is established on Angaur. Do not leave your bag open

31. suebek el charm

    Bird

    Usage

    Literally "flying animal" — the way Palauan refers to birds as a class, alongside a great many species names

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