This lesson is part of the Beginner Chamorro learning path.

In this post, we will learn how to say the words for “this” and “that” in Chamorro. We will also go over how to use these words with nouns, to make simple sentences such as “This is coffee” or to use phrases with “this and that” in sentences with verbs. Happy studying!

Contents

1. Introduction to This and That in Chamorro
2. Asking Questions: “What is This?”
3. Saying “This is Coffee”
4. Saying “This Coffee”
5. Action Sentences: “He will drink this coffee”
6. ➡️ Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson
7. Documentation & Further Study
   1. References
   2. Further Reading

Introduction to This and That in Chamorro

In Chamorro, there are 3 words we can use to express “this” or “that”, and the word you use depends upon the closeness of the object to the speaker and the person being spoken to. In general, we can understand the terms to be as follows:

• This (close to the speaker)
• That (close to the person being spoken to)
• That Over There (far away from the speaker and the person spoken to)

The words we most commonly use today for “this”, “that” and “that over there” are below:

Chamoru	English	When to use
Esti	This	Close to speaker
Enao	That	Close to person spoken to
Ayu / Eyu	That (Over There)	Far from speaker and person spoken to

Asking Questions: “What is This?”

The following questions with este/enao/eyu are great for beginners to use. You can use them to point at objects and ask speakers What is this? What is that?

To form these questions, put the word håfa (“what”) in front of esti, enao or eyu. The pattern is below:

Håfa + Esti / Enao / Ayu

We can also ask questions about people: Who is that? Who is that over there? This is the same pattern as before, but with the word håyi (“who”). Here is the full pattern:

Håyi + Esti / Enao / Ayu

Our sentence drills below will practice with both håfa and håyi:

Chamoru	English
Håfa esti?	What is this?
Håfa enao?	What is that?
Håfa ayu / eyu?	What is that (over there)?
Håyi esti?	Who is this?
Håyi enao?	Who is that?
Håyi ayu / eyu?	Who is that (over there)?

📝Older Words for “This” and “That”: There are also older words for “this” or “that” which have fallen out of common use, but can still be heard by certain speaker groups and in novenas, hymns and religious texts. These include the word ini, which is an older word for “this”. Topping also mentions the words yenao and yuhi for “there”.

Saying “This is Coffee”

We can use the words esti, enao or eyu to state what something is, such as This is coffee. That is water. That over there is tea.

To form these thoughts, just put the noun (person, place, or thing) in front of esti, enao, or eyu.

The full pattern is below:

Noun + Esti / Enao / Ayu

Chamoru	English
Kafe esti.	This is coffee.
Hånom enao.	That is water.
Niyok ayu.	That (over there) is a coconut.
Månnok esti.	This is a chicken.
Tinanom enao.	That is a plant.
åcho’ eyu.	That (over there) is a rock.
Lumot esti.	This is moss.
Chå enao.	That is tea.
Gupot ayu.	That (over there) is a party.

Saying “This Coffee”

We can also make phrases that indicate we are talking about “this coffee” or “that water.”

We start with esti, enao or eyu, the linking particle “na”, and then who or what we are talking about.

The full pattern is below:

[Esti / Enao / Ayu] + Na + Noun

Chamoru	English
Esti na kafe.	This coffee.
Enao na hånom.	That water.
Ayu na niyok.	That coconut (over there).
Esti na månnok.	This chicken.
Enao na tinanom.	That plant.
Eyu na åcho’.	That rock (over there).
Esti na lumot.	This moss.
Enao na chå.	That tea.
Ayu na gupot.	That party (over there).

In the final section, we’ll use our esti / enao / eyu phrases in action sentences.

Action Sentences: “He will drink this coffee”

Sometimes we want to talk about actions that have happened this or that, such as He will drink this coffee. I will buy that water.

To form these thoughts, just use our phrases from the previous section as the object (the who or what we do an action to) in a basic action sentence.

Past and present tense sentences would take the form:

Hu Type Pronoun + Transitive Verb + [Esti / Enao / Eyu + na + Noun]

Future tense sentences would just add the future markers to the front of the sentence:

Future Marker + Hu Type Pronoun + Transitive Verb + [Esti / Enao / Eyu + na + Noun]

And commands would just put the esti / enao / eyu phrase after a verb:

Transitive Verb + [Esti / Enao / Eyu + na + Noun]

We’ll practice with different sentences in the drills below:

Chamoru	English
Para u gimen esti na kafe.	He will drink this coffee.
Para bai hu fåhan enao na hånom.	I will buy that water.
Kao siña un kåtga ayu na niyok?	Can you carry that coconut (over there)?
Ti hu li’e’ esti na månnok.	I did not see this chicken.
Rega enao na tinanom.	Water that plant.
Atan eyu na åcho’.	Look at that rock (over there).
Kao ma rikohi esti na lumot?	Did they gather this moss?
Ti ha fa’tinas enao na chå.	She didn’t prepare that tea.
Siña in hingok ayu na gupot.	We can hear that party (over there).

➡️ Keep Learning! Continue to the Next Lesson

When you’re ready, click the link below to continue to the next lesson in this Beginner Chamorro series:

How to Say “I Want Coffee” in Chamorro – Expressing Desires and Preferences

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Documentation & Further Study

References

Topping, D. M., & Ogo, P. M. (1980). Spoken Chamorro with Grammatical Notes and Glossary (PALI Language Texts―Micronesia) (2nd ed.). University of Hawaii Press.

Topping, D. M., & Dungca, B. C. (1980). Chamorro Reference Grammar (PALI Language Texts―Micronesia). University of Hawaii Press.

Further Reading

Topping, D.M. “5.24 REPETITION DRILL.” In Spoken Chamorro: With Grammatical Notes and Glossary (Second Edition), 70-71. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1980.

Topping, D. M., & Dungca, B. C. “Demonstratives.” In Chamorro Reference Grammar, 112-114. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1973.