How many islands in the Mariana Islands have you visited? For most of my life I had only ever visited Guam, but last year I was fortunate to also visit Saipan and Tinian for the first time. I’m not much of a traveler because I prefer staying home, but if I ever get the opportunity to see the rest of the northern islands I will take the chance. Until then, I will enjoy the stories of others 🙂 Here are some Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song “Anatåhån” by Kelvin Duenas, which our study group listened to in July. Enjoy!
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How to Say “Stay” in Chamorro – Giving Commands With Intransitive Verbs
This lesson is part of the Beginner Chamorro learning path.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to give simple commands in Chamorro — things like “Stay,” “Go,” or “Go to the car.” You’ll practice how to tell someone what to do using everyday action words, and you’ll see how to add places or times to make your commands more specific. By the end of the lesson, you’ll learn the simple, foundational patterns for giving commands in the language. Happy studying!
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Legend: Why the Kakkak is Skinny
One of the most gratifying things about learning Chamorro is discovering new stories in the language that I have never heard before. The story about the Kakkak, or the Yellow Bittern, is a story that I never heard growing up. I found this version in a legends book from the KPV Collection that was collected and translated by Carmen C. Blas. This narration is done by Jay Che’le, listen and enjoy!
Maloffan Hao by Johnny Sablan – Chamorro Lyrics and English Translation
If you are in need of a love song about unrequited love in Chamorro, this is a good one to start with. Even though the grammar is a bit squishy in places, there are a lot of repeated phrases that are short and recognizable. A few months back our practice group wrote down Chamorro lyrics and and English translation for this song, but for the version sung by Glenn “Poochie” Paulino. I couldn’t find a version of that song on Youtube that I was able to embed on this post, so I’ve posted here the version sung by Johnny Sablan. Hope you enjoy it!
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Introduction to Pronouns in Chamorro
This lesson is part of the Beginner Chamorro learning path.
Pronouns like I, you, them, and her are foundational words in everyday speech—they help us talk about people without needing to say names over and over. In this post, we’ll explore how pronouns work in Chamorro, including the four main pronoun groups, key features that make Chamorro pronouns unique, and the sentence types where each group is used. Whether you’re talking about yourself, asking questions, or referring to others, learning about Chamorro pronouns is a foundational step to building your language ability. Happy studying!
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