Year: 2024

How to Say “I Can Stay” in Chamorro – Expressing Ability With Intransitive Verbs

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro Lessons: Beginner4 Comments

This lesson is part of the Beginner Chamorro learning path.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say what someone can or can’t do in Chamorro — for example, “I can stay,” “you can go to the store,” and “I cannot rest.” You’ll practice using the word siña with everyday action words, and you’ll also learn how to turn these ideas into questions like “Can I stay?” so you can talk about ability and possibility in real conversations. Happy studying!

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The Whaler Returned

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro StoriesLeave a comment

I will be flying back to the States this week after spending a lovely holiday here on Guam (despite being sick at home for most of it!) and I am already thinking about when we will be able to come back. At this point in our lives, it always feels like we are leaving family behind to be with family somewhere else. But whether we are with family in the Marianas or in the States, it always feels like a homecoming. So in that spirit, here is a heart-warming story by Påle’ Eric Forbes from his book “Estoriåye Yo'” about a whaler returning home to Guam. The narration for this story is done by Jay Che’le, hope you enjoy it!

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I Nobenan I Niño Jesus – A Guide to a Christmas Season Novena in Chamorro

On By Schyuler LujanIn Chamorro NobenaLeave a comment

Håfa adai todus hamyo! It has been a while since my last post – the last two months have been rough, as I’ve been repeatedly sick. To be honest I’m still struggling with my health and need to prioritize rest. But we made it to Guam for the holidays and Jay’s family has been saying the nobena to the baby Jesus this past week. This is a new experience for me, because my family did not keep this tradition going after moving to the states. So to help those who may be like me, here is a general how-to guide for praying this nobena, including what the nobena is, what’s usually involved in hosting it, the general order of songs, prayers and readings (as followed by Jay’s family – other families may follow a different order), and why praying the nobena can be helpful for language learners. Please note that this post will not include English translations. I plan to go over the English translations in separate blog posts.

UPDATED 12-31-2025: Changed the daily readings to a drop-down, to prevent navigation away from the main blog post. Just tap each day to reveal the full text.

UPDATED 12-29-2024: Added links to the sheet music for all songs, which are found on Kamalen Music. Also included links to each daily reading, made minor edits to the About the Nobena section, and added more notes for singing Si Jose yan Si Maria.

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