One thing I remember clearly from my first few months learning Chamorro was the lack of comprehensive, useful word lists to study. At the time I was told to use the dictionary, and I remember burning hours of time searching for words, only to be told I was using the wrong word or using a word in the wrong context. Many times I was unable to find a word at all. This can leave a person burnt out and discouraged. I remember a friend saying, “I only have 30 minutes a day to study, and I can’t spend that 30 minutes searching for a single word!” So one thing I feel passionate about doing here on my blog is putting together as many word lists as possible, or linking to other word lists online, to help make our studying more efficient. 🙂

So here is a list of 100 adjectives in Chamorro, to get you started. Some of these adjectives are based on the beginner word list by Gabriel Wyner and some of these adjectives I added based upon what I’ve read or listened to. I also believe in the power of spaced-repetition and quality flashcards, and recommend Gabriel Wyner’s guide on how to make Simple Word Flashcards to make an effective study tool to learn these words. Also check out my post on digital flashcards to see Chamorro-specific examples of different ways to make your flashcards.

UPDATE 3/10/24 – Changed the word for “smooth” to the correct term, måhlos.

Adjectives 1 – 20

Chamorro	English
maolek	good
båba	bad
magof	happy
triste / taiminagof	sad
lalålu’	angry
kåtma	calm
bråbu	active, healthy
malångu	sick
gefsaga / riku	rich
popbli	poor
lå’la	alive
måtai	dead
metgot	strong (physical)
dafe’	weak
gefpa’gu	beautiful
chatpa’gu	ugly
geftao	generous
chattao	stingy
matatnga	brave, fearless
ma’å’ñao	afraid

Adjectives 21 – 40

Chamorro	English
chathinasso	worried, anxious
måhgong	peaceful
paopao	fragrant
mutong	stinky
maipe	hot
manengheng	cold
tåftåf	early
atrasao	late
måhlos	smooth
makalelu	wrinkled
ñateng	slow
chaddek	fast
lokka’	tall
etigu’	short
anchu’	wide
ma’i’ot	narrow
tåddong	deep
nátata	shallow
dångkulu’	big
dikiki’	small

Adjectives 41 – 60

Chamorro	English
antigu	old
nuebu	new
åmku’	old (age)
hoben	young
fotgon	wet
ånglu’	dry
dibåtdi	free
gaibåli	has value
baråtu	cheap
guaguan	expensive
mafñot	tight
kallo	loose
takpapa’	low
takhilu’	high
mañaña	soft
mahetok	hard
makkat*	heavy (weight)
ñahlalang	light (weight or difficulty)
homhom	dark
ma’lak	bright

Makkat is also sometimes used to describe something that is diffult, in a metaphorical sense.

Adjectives 61 – 80

Chamorro	English
gagu‘	lazy
butmuchachu / butmuchacha	productive, industrious
geftao	generous
chattao	stingy
ñålang	hungry
håspok	full
må’o	thirsty
ti ma’o	not thirsty
yommok	fat
dalalai / masoksok	skinny
mames	sweet (flavor)
ma’aksom	sour (flavor)
mala’et	bitter
ma’asen	salty
pika	spicy
taisabot	bland; lacking flavor
malåti’	smart, intelligent
mudoru	stupid
ñaba	dull, blunt (like for tools)
laktos	sharp (also thorn)

Adjectives 81 – 100

Chamorro	English
chågu’	far
hihot	close
månnge’ / mångnge’	delicious
kalakas	disgusting, gross
libiånu	easy
mapput	diffiult
gåsgås	clean
applacha’	dirty
anåkku’	long
kadada’	short
måsa	ripe, ready (like for food)
lamas	overripe, spoiled
suette	lucky
dimålas	unlucky
bibu	energetic, lively
yåfai	exhausted (physically)
na’magof	fun, exciting
o’son	bored
tunas	straight
echong	crooked