Shopping

1. Ng tela a cheral tiang?

   Ng te-la a che-ral ti-ang

   How much does this cost?

   Usage

   Ask the price of an item at a Koror market or souvenir shop

   Grammar Note

   The set frame for asking a price is "Ng tela a cheral?" — "How much does it cost?" (cf. Ng tela a cheral a kelek? = "What is the cost of our food?"). tela (telang) is the question word "how many / how much", and cheral is the third-person possessive of char "price". A possessed noun takes tiang directly to mean "of this" (same shape as rechedel tiang and belkul tial okesiu). Ngarang is a variant of ngera "what" and never means "how much".

2. Ng kmal meringel a cheral.

   Ng kmal me-ri-ngel a che-ral

   It is too expensive.

   Usage

   Express that the price is too high

   Grammar Note

   "Expensive" is not one word but the set phrase meringel a cheral ("meringel a cheral — expensive"; example Ng meringel a cheral a ngikel. = "Fish is expensive"). kmal goes in front to intensify it (Kmal meral meringel a cheral a dengki er chelecha el buil. = "The electric bill is so high this month"). Its opposite is beot a cheral.

3. Ng sebechem el omekbeot a cheral?

   Ng se-be-chem el o-mek-be-ot a che-ral

   Can you give a discount?

   Usage

   Politely ask for a discount when shopping

   Grammar Note

   A request uses "Ng sebechem el + verb?" (Ng sebechem el ngosukak? = "Can you help me?"; Ng sebechem el meskak a oluches? = "Can you give me a pencil?"). sebechem is the second-person possessive of sebechel "his/her ability"; the first-person is sebechek. omekbeot is v.t. "make easy or cheap" — the causative of the set phrase beot a cheral "cheap". Mong is v.i. "go", not "can you".

4. Ak mo omechar tiang.

   Ak mo o-me-char ti-ang

   I will buy this.

   Usage

   Tell the seller you will purchase the item

   Grammar Note

   omechar is v.t. "buy" (examples: Ak mo omechar a bilek. = "I'm going to buy clothes."; Ke mo omechar a ngarang? = "What are you going to buy?"). "Ak mo + imperfective" gives "I am going to ...". A demonstrative object follows the verb bare, with no a (the same shape as Ak mo omechar tia el omiange.). Blil is the third-person possessive of blai "house" and means "his house / the building of" (phrases blil a bulis "police station", blil a kas "gas station", blil a beab "jail"). It carries no "buy" sense.

5. Ak di omes.

   Ak di o-mes

   I am just looking around.

   Usage

   Let the shopkeeper know you are just browsing

   Grammar Note

   di is mod. "only; just; any", placed after the subject marker to give "just / only". omes is v.t. "see; look at; watch". Example of "ak di omes": Choi, ak di omes er a eanged me a lsa el mo mekngit e ak merael. ("Yes, I'll just watch the sky, and if it turns bad I'll leave."). Being imperfective, it stands without a stated object. Melai is glossed "bring; take; get; receive; obtain" and has no "look" sense, while eolt is "wind; storm; typhoon", and chad er a X means "a person of X".

6. Ng ngar er ngii a kuk chimo el bedengel?

   Ng ngar er ngii a kuk chi-mo el be-den-gel

   Is there another color?

   Usage

   Ask if a product is available in a different color

   Grammar Note

   ngar er ngii = "there is"; kuk chimong is the expression for "a different one", and chimo el X is the counting form for non-living things; colour is expressed with bedengel ("its colour")

7. Ng ngar er ngii a kuk beot a cheral?

   Ng ngar er ngii a kuk be-ot a che-ral

   Is there something cheaper?

   Usage

   Ask for a more affordable option when shopping

   Grammar Note

   "cheap" is the expression beot a cheral (lit. "its price is easy"); kuk means "a little" (kuk mo lmuk = "a bit quieter"), so "a little cheaper" reads as "cheaper"

8. Ng soak a omiange er a Belau.

   Ng so-ak a o-mi-a-nge er a Be-lau

   I would like a souvenir from Palau.

   Usage

   Express your desire for a Palauan souvenir

   Grammar Note

   A wish uses soak, the first-person possessive of sau "liking", and the subject marker is ng, not ak (Ng soak a rodech. = "I would like fruit."). A following noun takes a, a following verb takes el (e.g. Ng soak el omechar er tia.). omiange is a loan from Japanese omiyage, n. "gift; souvenir". Belau is the Palauan name for Palau. Kired is the first-person plural inclusive of kirel "his/her obligation, must" — it means "our duty", so it clashed in person with the singular subject Ak, and kirel expresses obligation rather than desire (the first-person singular is kirek; cf. Ng kirek el mo omechar a ... = "I need to buy ...").

9. Ak mo harau el olab a udoud.

   Ak mo ha-rau el o-lab a u-doud

   I will pay with cash.

   Usage

   Indicate you will pay with cash — Palau uses the US dollar

   Grammar Note

   harau is a loan from Japanese harau and v.i. "pay" (examples: Ak mlo harau a belsek er a bangk. = "I went to pay my debt at the bank."; Ng techa a mle harau? = "Who paid?"). mlo is past, mo is prospective. "With cash" is rendered el olab a udoud, "holding money" — the same wording used in the definition of omechar (omechar a mechar el olab a udoud, "to buy is to obtain using money"). udoud is n. "money; cash", so the English loan cash is unnecessary. Palau's currency is the US dollar. Blil is the third-person possessive of blai "house" and carries no "pay" sense.

10. Sulang el omechar!

    Su-lang el o-me-char

    Thank you for the purchase!

    Usage

    Express thanks after completing a shopping transaction

    Grammar Note

    sulang comes from saul "trouble; gratitude" and is the everyday thank-you; it is more casual than mesulang. What you are thanking someone for follows the linker el as an imperfective verb — the same shape as Sulang el lmuut el mei. ("Thanks for coming back" = "Welcome back"). For a fuller, politer thanks, say Ke kmal mesulang. Blil is the third-person possessive of blai "house".

11. Ak diak kusbech a receipt.

    Ak di-ak kus-bech a receipt

    I don't need a receipt

    Usage

    Used to decline a receipt when it is offered. Palauan uses the English word receipt as-is

    Grammar Note

    diak is the negator. The verb ousbech (to need) becomes kusbech in the first person (ousbech is the form used when asking "do you need…?"). The object takes the article a

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