Palåbran 07/31/09: Maolek

Maolek (MAU-lick): (adjective/adverb) Good, fine, well.

Uses:

"Kao maolek hao?" = "Are you (doing) well?"
"Gof maolek enao para ta kånno'." = "That is really good for us to eat."
"Maolek ha'." = "It's fine."

Palåbran 07/30/09: Komu

Komu (KO-moo): (conjuction) In case, if, such as, as when--usually used to connect phrases or clauses, like, since, provided that.

Uses:

"Komu måfaisen yo', bai cho'gue." = "If was asked, I would do it."
"Komu guåha sålåpe'-ña, para u gåsta todu." = "If he had money, he'd spend it all."
"Håfa mohon un cho'gue, komu Presidente hao?" = "What would you do, if you were President?"

Palåbran 07/29/09: Gacha'

Gacha' (GA-cha'): (verb) To step on, to place the sole of the foot on.

Note: Gacha' also means to catch or detect, but for today it means to step.

Uses:

"Rikohi hugeti-mu siha na ti manmagacha'." = "Gather your toys so they don't get stepped on."
"Adahi na un gacha' i låpes." = "Careful not to step on the pencil."
"Kanna' hu gacha' i lilok." = "I almost stepped on the nail."

Palåbran 07/28/09: Chocho

Chocho (CHO-cho): (verb) Eat, devour, consume.

Note: This form of "to eat" does not take a specific object, it either takes a generalized object or none at all. With a specific object we use the word kånno'.

Uses:

"Chumochocho yo' pån." = "I was eating some bread."
"Mañochocho i famagu'on." = "The kids are eating."
"Malago' yo' chumocho." = "I want to eat (something)."

Palåbran 07/27/09: Atof

Atof (A-tuf): (noun) Roof.

Uses:

"Ha dåggao hulo' i patgon i bola gi atof." = "The kid threw the ball up on the roof."
"Madestrosa i atof ni pakyo'." = "The roof was destroyed by the storm."
"Ma arekla i atof sa' susumi' i kisami." = "They fixed the roof because the ceiling was leaking."

Palåbran 07/24/09: Insigidas

Insigidas (in-see-GI-das): (adverb) Immediately, promptly, at once, hurry up, quick, right away, as soon as possible.

Uses:

"Humånao gue' insigidas." = "She went right away."
"Pineddongguan i na'-ña kande i patgon ya insigidas kumåti." = "The kid's candy fell down and he immediately cried."
"Yanggen måtto yo' gi gima', bai maigo' insigidas." = "When I get to the house, I'm going to sleep as soon as possible."

Palåbran 07/23/09: Biåhi

Biåhi (bee-AH-hee): (noun) Time, round.

Note: This is also seen as bi'åhi.

Uses:

"Kuånto biåhi na un ågang gue'?" = "How many times did you call her?"
"Guåha na biåhi na mambakasion yo'." = "Occasionally (there are times) I go on vacation."
"Humånao gue' para Las Vegas tres biåhi." = "He went to Las Vegas three times."

Palåbran 07/22/09: Gåsgås

Gåsgås (GUS-gus): (adjective) Clean, neat, pure, unsoiled, decent, chaste.

Note: To use the verb form of the word, we add the causative prefix na'-.

Uses:

"Ilek-ña na ha fa'gåsi i plåtu, lao ti gåsgås." = "He said he washed the plate, but it's not clean."
"Na'gåsås i såla sa' guåha mambisita-ta sempre." = "Clean up the living room, because we're going to have visitors."
"Kao gåsgås i kuatto-mu?" = "Is your room clean?"

Palåbran 07/21/09: Råtu

Råtu (RAH-two): (noun) Short time, little while.

Uses:
"Nangga fan un råtu." = "Please wait for little while."
"Un råtu ha' ya bai hokka i basula." = "I'll pick up the trash in a bit (little while)."
"Manguentos ham un råtu." = "We talked for a short time."

Palåbran 07/20/09: Uhu

Uhu (OO-who): Here, take it--expression used to attract (someones) attention when giving something.

Uses:

"Estague' na'-mu, uhu." = "Here is your food, take it."
"Uhu i lepblu-mu." = "Here, take your book."
"Uhu i gimen." = "Here, take the drink."

Palåbran 07/17/09: Dekka'

Dekka' (DECK-kah'): (verb) Poke, pick (with pole or stick), nudge, pick at, prod.

Uses:

"Kalakas! ha dekka' gui'eng-ña." = "Gross! he picked his nose."
"Munga mådekka' i maddok, sa' dine'on kalulot-mu ni ayuyu sempre." = "Don't poke around in the hole, because the crab will pinch your finger."
"Kao guåha dekka' nifen?" = "Are there any tooth picks?"

Palåbran 07/16/09: Påyon

Påyon (PAH-dzon): (adjective) Accustomed, habitual, usual, customary, used to.

Uses:

"Ti påyon yo' mama'titinas na'Italiånu." = "I'm not used to making Italian food."
"Påyon gue' måmå'on todu i dia." = "He's used to chewing betel nut all day long."
"Mampåyon i famagu'on manmaigo' gi alas ocho." = "The children are accustomed to sleeping at eight o'clock."

Leksion Chamoru: Prefix må-

The "passive marker" prefix må- is one of the most frequently used prefixes in the Chamorro language. If you like the grammar explanation, it changes a verb from the active voice to the passive. If you don't particularly care for grammatical things, then it's pretty much like adding "-ed" to an English verb.
Hopefully these examples will clear up what I mean:

• Fa'tinas = Cook, make
  Må- + fa'tinas => Måfa'tinas = Cooked, made
  
• Åligao = Search (for), look (for)
  Må- + åligao => Må'åligao = Searched (for), looked (for)
  
• Sotta = Release
  Må- + sotta => Måsotta = Released
• Li'e' = See
  Må- + li'e' => Måli'e' = Seen
• Konne' = Take (living object)
  Må- + konne' => Måkonne' = Taken
• Tuna = Bless, praise
  Må- + tuna => Måtuna = Blessed, praised
  

When you add må-, you need to follow it with a noun or yo'-type pronouns. Here are some examples with active voice, then passive following:

• Ha fa'tinas i kaddo. = He cooks (did cook) the soup.
  Måfa'tinas i kaddo. = The soup was cooked.
• Hu åligao si Juan. = I search (did search) for John.
  Må'åligao si Juan. = John was searched for.
• Ma sotta i paluma. = They release (did release) the bird.
  Måsotta i paluma. = The bird was released.
• Un li'e' i palao'an. = You see (did see) the woman.
  Måli'e' i palao'an. = The woman was seen.

The prefix må- is easy to confuse with the hu-type pronoun ma, but try not to. Just like the example above "Ma sotta" vs. " Måsotta," the meaning can have important yet subtle differences.

Palåbran 07/15/09: Tågo'

Tågo' (TAH-goo'): (verb) Command, send on errand, be a messenger.

Uses:

"Åguåguåt i patgon, ti siña gue' måtågo'." = "The kid is naughty, he can't be commanded."
"Cho'gue fan i hu tågo' hao." = "Please do what I told (commanded) you."
"Ya-ña manågo', lao ti ya-ña manosge." = "He likes to give commands, but he doesn't like to obey."

Palåbran 07/14/09: Lålåtde

Lålåtde (luh-LUHT-dee): (verb) Scold, chide, reprove, reprimand.

Uses:

"I nana ha lålåtde i patgon-ña." = "The mother reproved her child."
"Kumåti si Maria, sa' målålåtde gue' as tåtå-ña." = "Maria cried, because she was scolded by her dad."
"Ai si Juan, ya-ña manlålåtde taotao." = "Oh, John likes to scold people."

Note: I have no clue how to actually translate "Ai." Hopefully you all understand what I mean when I use "oh" in it :-). Let me know if you have a better way to put it in English.

Palåbran 07/13/09: Guålo'

Guålo' (GWAH-loo'): (noun) Farm, cultivate land, till soil, farming, husbandry, gardening, garden, produce crop, cultivation.

Uses:
"Humånao yo' para i gualo' para bai fangguåssan." = "I went to the farm to weed."
"Håfa para un tånom gi gualo'-mu?" = "What are you going to plant at your farm?"
"Ti dånkolo i gualo'-hu." = "My farm isn't big."

Palåbran 07/10/09: Niyok

Niyok (KNEE-dzuk): (noun) Coconut--tree or fruit.

Note: While we do use niyok as a general term, when referring to the fruit, we usually reserve it for the matured fruit before it begins to sprout.

Uses:

"Hu kåmyo i niyok para i kelaguen." = "I grated the cooconut for the kelaguen."
"Må'usa i bagåson niyok gi kanden niyok." = "Coconut chunks are used for coconut candy."
"Gof didike' i tronkon niyok." = "The coconut tree is very small."

Palåbran 07/09/09: Li'e'

Li'e' (LEE'-ee'): (verb) See; look; behold; perceive; watch.

Uses:

"Kao un li'e' i siñåt gi kanton chålan?" = "Did you see the sign by road?"
"Manmanli'e' siha hålu'u gi tasi." = "They saw a shark in the ocean."
"In li'e' esta i bidådå-ña." = "We've already seen what he's doing."

Palåbran 07/08/09: Pålao'an

Pålao'an (puh-LAU'-an): (noun) Female, woman.

Note: Pålao'an is another one of the rare Chamorro words with an "irregular" plural: famålao'an.

Uses:
"Mamomokkat i palao'an gi fi'on i chalan." = "The woman was walking on the side of the road."
"Tres na famålao'an manmananaitai gi Gima' Yu'us." = "The three women were praying in the Church."
"Hu li'e' eyu na pålao'an gi tenda." = " I saw that woman at the store."

Palåbran 07/07/09: Maigo'

Maigo' (MY-go'): (pseudo-verb) Sleep, slumber, hibernate.

Note: Topping in his dictionary also gives the definition of "spin so quickly and smoothly that its motion is imperceptible." I've personally never used/heard it used that way, but if you have, let me know.

Uses:
"Kao mamaigo' si Juan?" = "Is John sleeping?"
"Na'må'åse' i neni sa' ti siña gue' maigo'." = "The poor baby can't go to sleep."
"Manmamaigo' i famagu'on sa' pupuengi esta." = "The children are sleeping since it's already late at night."

Palåbran 07/06/09: Babui

Babui (BA-bwee): (noun) Pig, swine.

Uses:

"Meggai ga'-ña babui si Juan." = "John owns a lot of pigs."
"Na'gåsgås i kuatto-mu, sa' kalan sågan babui." = "Clean up your room, because it's like a pig sty."
"Yanggen ma puno' i babui, para ma fa'tinas fritåda lokkue'." = "When they kill the pig, they're going to make fritada also."

Leksion Chamoru: The prefix chat-

Chat- is similar to the English prefixes "dis-," "un-," "in-," "mis-," "anti-," etc., but all rolled into one. It is a prefix which gives a negative or derogatory inclination to words. Here are some examples:

• Hinasso = A thought or a memory
  Chat- + hinasso => Chathinasso = A worry or a concern.
• Fino' = To speak, to articulate.
  Chat- + fino' => Chatfino' = To curse, to bad-mouth.
• Måsa = Cooked, ripe.
  Chat- + måsa => Chatmåsa = Premature, unripened, uncooked.

There are several instances where the derived word's meaning isn't obvious:

• Li'e' = To see.
  Chat- + li'e' => Chatli'e' = To fail to see something clearly.
  But it also means:
  Chat- + li'e' => Chatli'e' = To hate, to detest, to abhor.
• På'go = Pleasant, beautiful.
  Chat- + på'go => Chatpå'go = Ugly, unpleasant, disagreeable, contrary to beauty, offensive to look upon.
• Såga = To stay, to dwell.
  Chat- + såga => Chatsåga = Difficult, hard.

The prefix chat- is another prefix which forces the primary stress of the word to fall on the first syllable. So for some of the examples above:

• Chatfino' => CHAT-fee-new'
• Chatli'e' => CHAT-lee'-ee'
• Chatsåga => CHAT-suh-gah'
  

Palåbran 07/03/09: Respetayon

Respetayon (res-peh-TA-dzon): (adjective) Respectful, polite, respectable, honorable, attentive, courteous, gentlemanly, mannerly.

Uses:

"Respetayon gue' na biha." = "She's a respectable old lady."
"Kuentusi i mañaina-mu gi respetayon na palåbras." = "Talk to your elders with polite words."
"Ti respetayon gue' sa' tairespetu." = "He's not respectable, because he is disrespectful."

Leksion Chamoru: I mas fondamento na estrukturan Chamoru (The most basic Chamorro structure)

One of the most basic of all sentence structures in Chamorro is what I will call a "simple description." These are just sentences with a subject and a description:

• The house is big.
• The car is red.
• The chair is wide.
• The kid is tall.

In Chamorro we use the pattern: description + article

+ subject. (The definite article is "i".) So, here's how we would say the above simple descriptions the Chamorro way:

• Big "i" house.
• Red "i" car.
• Wide "i" chair.
• Tall "i" kid.

To say them completely in Chamorro, we'd say:

• Dånkolo i gima'.
• Agaga' i kareta.
• Fedda' i siya.
• Lokka' i patgon.

When the subject is a proper name, the structure remains the same. The only difference is that we change the article to "si." Here are some examples:

• Maria is pretty. ==> Pretty "si" Maria. ==> Bonita si Maria.
• John is skinny. ==> Skinny "si" John. ==> Dalalai si John (Juan).
• Joe is tall ==> Tall "si" Joe. ==> Lokka' si Joe (Jose).
• Rosa is sick. ==> Sick "si" Rosa. ==> Målångu si Rosa.

Leksion Chamoru: The prefix an-

An- is used to indicate the leftovers or even refuse of whatever it's attached to. It usually indicates something that is almost useless. Here are a few examples:

• Kånno' = To eat.
  Ankånno' = Leftover food (to be thrown away).
  So ankånno' would indicate the stuff on your plate when you're completely through eating.
  
• Sopbla = Remains, left over, remainder.
  Ansopbla = Leftover of the remainder.
  Where sopbla is what's left over from something, ansopbla would mean the rubbish left over from whatever remained from another item.
• Bålle = To sweep.
  Anbålle = The remnents from sweeping.
  So anbålle is the stuff that's left over from sweeping, maybe fine dust.

The prefix forces the primary stress to fall on the first syllable. So, using the words given above:

• Ankånno => AN-cun-nu'
• Ansopbla => AN-sop-blah
• Anbålle => AN-ball-lee

Palåbran 07/02/09: Yute'

Yute' (DZOO-tee'): (verb) Throw away, dump, drop down, cast away, discard.

Uses:

"Ha yute' i katne sa' lamas." = "She threw the meat away because it was rotten."
"Ai låstima, un yute' i mangga lao ti båba." = "How wasteful, you threw away the mango, but it wasn't bad."
"Munga mayute' i yabi-mu." = "Don't throw your keys away."

Palåbran 07/01/09: Tufong

Tufong (TWO-fong): (verb) To count.

Note: Tufong is a "man" type verb, so in its general form it requires the prefix man-. This is often contracted to get the word manfong or mamfong.

Uses:

"Kao ma tufong i taotao guihi gi gipot?" = "Did they count the people at the party?"
"Mamfong yo' sålåpe'." = "I counted money."
"Ya-ña i patgon mamfong." = "The child likes to count things."