Photography

1. Ak sebechek el chutsus er tiang?

   Ak se-be-chek el chut-sus er ti-ang?

   May I take a photo here?

   Usage

   Used to ask permission to take a photo at a location

   Grammar Note

   "Ak sebechek el ..." asks for permission. "Chutsus" is a loan from Japanese "utsusu", used as the verb "take (a photo)".

2. Ng soam el chutsus er kid?

   Ng so-am el chut-sus er kid?

   Would you like to take a photo together?

   Usage

   Used to suggest taking a photo together

   Grammar Note

   "Ng soam el ..." asks "do you want to ...?". Chutsus is "take (a photo)" and kid is inclusive "we/us".

3. Ke sebechem el chutsus er kid?

   Ke se-be-chem el chut-sus er kid?

   Could you take a photo of us?

   Usage

   Used to ask someone to take a photo of your group

   Grammar Note

   "Sebechem" asks about the listener's ability or willingness to do something.

4. Ng diak el sebechek el chutsus er tiang.

   Ng diak el se-be-chek el chut-sus er ti-ang.

   Photography is not allowed here.

   Usage

   Used to indicate that photography is not permitted

   Grammar Note

   "Diak el sebechek el" is the Palauan negation of permission. Chutsus is the verb "take (a photo)".

5. Ngera a ungil el location er a photo?

   Nge-ra a un-gil el lo-ca-tion er a pho-to?

   What is a good location for photos?

   Usage

   Used to ask for photogenic spots or photo locations

   Grammar Note

   "Location" and "photo" are English loanwords used in Palauan.

6. Ke sebechem el oldurokl a photo el mo er ngak?

   Ke se-be-chem el ol-du-rokl a pho-to el mo er ngak?

   Could you share the photo with me?

   Usage

   Used to ask someone to share a photo they took

   Grammar Note

   "Oldurokl" means "to send"; sebechem is the 2nd-person form of sebechel (can/be able to).

7. Ng kmal klebokel a photo er a sunset.

   Ng kmal kle-bo-kel a pho-to er a sun-set.

   The sunset photo is really beautiful.

   Usage

   Used to compliment a beautiful photo

   Grammar Note

   "Beautiful" is klebokel (v.s. pretty; beautiful). "Sunset" is used as an English loanword

8. Ng soak el omekeek a batteri er a camera er ngak.

   Ng so-ak el o-me-keek a bat-te-ri er a cam-er-a er ngak.

   I need to charge my camera battery.

   Usage

   Used when the camera battery needs charging

   Grammar Note

   "Omekeek" means "to fill up"; "batteri" is a loanword from English/Japanese. "Camera" is used as an English loanword.

9. Ng ngar er ker a blil a print er a photo?

   Ng ngar er ker a blil a print er a pho-to?

   Where can I print photos?

   Usage

   Used to find a place to print photos

   Grammar Note

   The frame for asking a location is "Ng ngar er ker a X?" (expression ngar ker = "where is it"). A place of business is expressed with blil a X ("the building of X"), as in blil a blengur = restaurant.

10. Ng soam el omes er a photo er a phone er ngak?

    Ng so-am el o-mes er a pho-to er a phone er ngak?

    Would you like to see the photos on my phone?

    Usage

    Used when offering to show photos on your phone

    Grammar Note

    "Phone" is used as an English loanword in Palauan.

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