Fashion & Clothing

1. Ng ngar er ngii a bail el sebechek?

   Do you have this in my size?

   Usage

   Used to ask if a clothing item is available in your size

   Grammar Note

   Palauan has no everyday word for "size"; "fit" is expressed with the possessive paradigm of sebechel "his/her ability, its fit" (Tia el bail a sebechel a Toki. = "This clothing fits Toki."; Kam tames er tial subong el kmo ng sebechem. = "Try these pants if they fit."). The first person is sebechek, so bail el sebechek is "clothing that fits me". Existence is asked with Ng ngar er ngii a X? (Ng dirk ngar er ngii a kall? = "Is there still any food left?"). Note: tela means "how many".

2. Ng sebechek el melasem tia el bail?

   Can I try this on?

   Usage

   Used to ask if you can try on a clothing item

   Grammar Note

   Permission uses "Ng sebechek el + verb?" (Ng sebechek el longir a mlim? = "May I borrow your car?"; Ng sebechek el mechulau? = "Can I hug you?"). melasem is v.t. "try (out); practice; check", and it is applied to clothes (Kam tames er tial subong el kmo ng sebechem. = "Try these pants if they fit."). Note: leko is the conjunction a leko "intended to; apparently", not "try", and cheleuid is n.r.s. "mistake; error". Clothing is bail (n. "article of clothing; clothes").

3. Ng ngar er ker a sebechek el melasem a bail?

   Where is the fitting room?

   Usage

   Used to ask for the location of the fitting room

   Grammar Note

   "Where" is ker (Ng ngar er ker a Mars? = "Where is Mars?"). Palauan has no word for "fitting room", so this asks where one can try clothes on. The frame "Ng ngar er ker a sebechek el + verb?" matches Ng ngar er ker a sebechek el melecholb? ("Where can I bathe?"). Note: tela el beluu means "how many villages", not "where" (tela = how many, beluu = village/country/place).

4. Ng kmal kmes / medidai / kemanget / kedeb.

   This is too tight / loose / long / short.

   Usage

   Used to describe a fit problem with clothing

   Grammar Note

   The four words: kmes v.s. "(clothes) tight"; medidai v.s. "loose; loose-fitting"; kemanget "length exceeding what is needed" (e.g. A cheliuem a kmal kemanget. = "You sleep for a very long time."); kedeb v.s. "short". Note: chetil is n.poss.3s "he/she dislikes".

5. Ng ngar er ngii a kakerous el bedengel?

   Do you have this in a different color?

   Usage

   Used to ask if a clothing item is available in another color

   Grammar Note

   Kakerous is v.recip. "different from each other", and bedengel is n.poss.3s covering "body; skin; colour; type" - colour is expressed with this word. Note: dellomel is "a plant (already growing)", beluu is "village; place", and cheleuid is n.r.s. "mistake; error"; none of them is a word for colour or kind.

6. Tia el bail ng rruul er a ngarang?

   What material / fabric is this made of?

   Usage

   Used to ask about the fabric or material of clothing

   Grammar Note

   Asking what something is made of uses the frame A blim ng rruul er a ngarang? ("What's your house made out of?"). rruul is the resultative (v.r.s.) of meruul, v.t. "make; do; prepare", with the material introduced by er a. Note: cheleuid is n.r.s. "mistake; error", not clothing (that is bail); and tela is "how many", not "what".

7. Ng sebechek el mesilek tiang er a washing machine?

   Is this machine washable?

   Usage

   Used to ask if a garment is machine washable

   Grammar Note

   mesilek is v.t. "wash (clothes; hair; rice; etc.)" — the verb for laundering clothes (as in Ng soak el mesilek a bilek.). Ability uses Ng sebechek el + verb (Ng sebechek el meluches a tekoi er a Belau. = "I can write in Palauan."). There is no word for "washing machine", so the English is left as is.

8. Ng tela a cheral?

   How much is this?

   Usage

   Used to ask the price of clothing

   Grammar Note

   Cheral is the third-person possessive of "price" (Ng tela a cheral a kelek? = "What is the cost of our food?"; cheral a blai, "the cost of the house"). Note: belkul is n.poss.3s "meaning; purpose" (belkul a tekoi, "the meaning of a word") and carries no price sense.

9. Ng ngar er ngii a klalo el ulekbeot a cheral?

   Is there a sale or discount?

   Usage

   Used to ask about sales or discounts

   Grammar Note

   ulekbeot is the resultative (v.r.s.) of omekbeot, v.t. "make easy or cheap" — "made cheap". Price is cheral (the set phrase beot a cheral "cheap" is the opposite of meringel a cheral "expensive"). Existence is Ng ngar er ngii a X?

10. Ak melai tia.

    I'll take it.

    Usage

    Used to indicate you want to purchase an item

    Grammar Note

    melai means bring; take; get; receive; obtain — "to take/receive". tia is "this". Note: melai has no "buy" sense (that is omechar), but "I'll take this one" is exactly what it does mean here.

11. Ak di omes. Sulang.

    I'm just looking, thank you.

    Usage

    Used when browsing without intention to buy

    Grammar Note

    di is mod. "only; just; any" and omes v.t. "see; look at; watch"; "ak di omes" is used as in "Choi, ak di omes er a eanged ..." ("Yes, I'll just watch the sky ..."). sulang comes from saul "trouble; gratitude" and means "thank you (more casual than mesulang)". Note: leko is the conjunction a leko "intended to; apparently" and carries no "look" sense (example: Ak mo tames el leko ra party. = "I'll try to come to the party.").

12. Ng sebechek el omtechei tia el bail?

    Can I exchange this garment?

    Usage

    Used to ask whether a garment can be exchanged at a store

    Grammar Note

    omtechei is v.i. "change; replace; substitute; return (favor)" — the verb for swapping goods. To ask for money back, the separate word olluut, v.t. "send or give back; refund (money)", is used. Palauan has no expression for a "return policy", so rather than asking about the rule the card asks directly whether the item can be exchanged. Note: tela means "how many", not "what".

13. Ng kmal ungil tia el bail er kau!

    That looks great on you!

    Usage

    Used to compliment a companion's outfit

    Grammar Note

    ungil is v.s. "good; nice" and kmal the mod. "very". "Your X" is the noun followed by er kau (Ng ngar er ker a blalech er kau? = "Where's your slingshot wound?"). Clothing is bail, n. "article of clothing; clothes" (Tia el bail a sebechel a Toki. = "This clothing fits Toki."). Note: cheleuid is n.r.s. "mistake; error".

14. Ng sebechem el mengkekerei tia el bail?

    Can you take this garment in for me?

    Usage

    Used to request taking in (making smaller) a piece of clothing

    Grammar Note

    mengkekerei is v.t. "make smaller; reduce in size". Palauan has no word for hemming specifically, so the card asks for the garment to be taken in. To say first that it is too long, use kemanget, n. "length exceeding what is needed". Note: chetil is n.poss.3s "he/she dislikes", not "length".

15. Ng merael a chisel tia el bail er chelechang?

    Is this style popular right now?

    Usage

    Used to ask if a clothing style is currently trendy

    Grammar Note

    "Merael a chisel" (lit. its news travels) is the phrase for "well-known / popular". Meringel means "hard / painful / spicy", never "popular"

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