Chapter 8: Describing Things and People

Starting point#

Ana is visiting te Ixk'at, who has laid out several blouses she has woven.

Every line describes. Watch for adjectives before nouns (la q'ëq po't la', ri käq po't, utziläj po't), adjectives as predicates (jeb'ël, ri'j chik, k'ak'a', jotöl rajil), the color formula käq chuqa' q'än rub'onil, the intensifier yalan, the comparison with chuwäch "before the face of", and the "which one" question answered by ri käq "the red one".

How it works#

What an adjective is, and where it goes#

An adjective is a word that names a quality: big, red, old, good. Kaqchikel adjectives have two jobs, the same two as in English, but the grammar of each is simpler than in English because there is no verb "to be" and no agreement for gender.

Job 1: in front of a noun (the attributive position). The adjective comes immediately before the noun it describes, as in English:

Inside a frame, the adjective keeps the slot Chapter 6 gave it, after the number and before taq: re oxi' k'ak'a' taq wuj re' "these three new books".

Job 2: as the predicate. You already know this one from Chapter 3: the adjective stands first, the subject follows, and man ... ta, la and the Set B markers work exactly as they do with nouns (Man nim ta ri jay "The house isn't big", E jeb'ël "They are pretty"). Set the two jobs side by side and the only difference is whether ri stands in front of the adjective or between the adjective and the noun:

Asking what something is like: rub'anikil and rub'onil#

Two possessed nouns carry most description questions. Rub'anikil (from -b'än "do, make" plus -ikil) means "its nature, its make-up, what it is like"; rub'onil means "its color". The questions are:

¿Achike rub'anikil?
What is it like?

¿Achike rub'onil?
What color is it?

And the answers put the adjective first and the possessed noun after it:

Nim rub'anikil ri jay.
The house is big (big is its nature).

Kow rub'anikil re ch'akät re'.
This chair is hard.

Käq rub'onil ri po't.
The blouse is red (red is its color).

Säq rub'onil ri jay.
The house is white.

Literally, "big (is) its-nature the house": a verbless sentence whose subject is rub'anikil ri jay. Plain Nim ri jay is just as common, but for color the rub'onil formula is the natural choice. To ask how a person is feeling, use ¿Achike ab'anon? from Chapter 2.

Colors#

The core color words:

Räx has a wider range than any English color word. It covers green and, in traditional use, blue as well; it also means "unripe" (räx ik "green chile"), "raw, uncooked", and "fresh, damp". The colors carry cultural weight too: in the Maya view of the world each direction has its color (white north, yellow south, red east, black west), with green at the center, and the four kinds of maize share the four colors.

Lighter or "-ish" shades are made by a small suffix: the first consonant of the color word plus -öj is added to the end. Here is one taken apart:

kaq-köj
red-ish
"reddish, pink"

The whole family:

Notice that the lax vowel of the base tenses when the suffix is added (käq > kaqköj, säq > saqsöj), the same rule you met with plurals and possession.

Kaqköj rub'onil ri kotz'ij.
The flower is pink.

K'iy rub'onil ri po't: k'o käq, k'o q'än, k'o räx chuqa' xar.
The blouse has many colors: there is red, yellow, green and blue.

Size, age, quality and feel#

Here are the everyday adjectives grouped in opposite pairs, the way they are easiest to learn. All of them work in both positions described above.

Some of the empty cells are real gaps: Kaqchikel has no everyday adjective for "light (in weight)" or "easy", so a speaker negates the opposite: man al ta "not heavy", man k'ayew ta "not difficult, easy". Jotöl rajil and qasan rajil are literally "its price is up" and "its price is lowered", and they are used exactly like adjectives: Jotöl rajil ri kej "The horse is expensive". B'aq is literally "bone", said of a thin person. For an old person, rijiläj (below) is politer than bare ri'j.

Al ri peqës. The bag is heavy.

Tew ri ya'.
The water is cold.

Ki' ri kape.
The coffee is sweet (good-tasting).

Tz'il ri awex.
Your trousers are dirty.

Man k'ayew ta ri samaj.
The work isn't hard.

"Happy" and "sad" are verbs in Kaqchikel (yikikot "I am happy"), which you will conjugate in Chapter 10. A few other describing words, such as kosinäq "tired" and nojinäq "full", come from verbs or positional roots, but as predicates they work just like the adjectives here:

Kosinäq ri tijonel.
The teacher is tired.

Plural adjectives#

Most Kaqchikel adjectives do not change for number; plurality is carried by the noun or by the Set B marker e on the predicate:

E jeb'ël ri taq kotz'ij.
The flowers are pretty.

E k'ak'a' ri taq wuj.
The books are new.

Ri ak'wala' e ti'oj.
The children are sturdy.

A small group of adjectives does have a plural form, usually made with a suffix -a'q or -täq on a tensed stem. The ones you will meet most:

E nima'q ri taq jay.
The houses are big.

E rijitäq ri ka'i' achi'a' la'.
Those two men are old.

Use these plurals only as predicates: e nima'q, e rijitäq. In front of a noun the adjective stays as it is and the noun or taq carries the plural: ri nim taq jay "the big houses", re oxi' rijiläj taq ixoqi' re' "these three old women". Every other adjective simply takes e.

Turning it up: intensifiers#

Kaqchikel uses few adverbs, but it has several ways to intensify an adjective.

Words placed before the adjective.

Janila and yalan are the workhorses and are interchangeable in most sentences. Kan adds emphasis and often stacks: kan yalan ütz "really very good". Loman dampens instead of intensifying; it is the answer when something is only middling (¿La ütz? Loman ütz. "Is it good? So-so."). Tzay is a regional intensifier reserved for qualities felt as bad or excessive: tzay jöb' is a destructive downpour, not a welcome rain.

Reduplication. Saying the adjective twice intensifies it, especially when the adjective is used as an adverb of manner: ütz ütz "very well, carefully", jeb'ël jeb'ël "very well, beautifully". Tab'ana' jeb'ël jeb'ël "Do it very well".

The suffix -aläj / -iläj. Added to an adjective root, it produces a strong form, "very X, extremely X", which often doubles as a superlative. The vowel of the suffix harmonizes with the stem in ways that must be learned word by word:

These intensive adjectives sit in front of nouns (utziläj po't "a fine blouse", jun rijiläj ixöq "an aged woman", loq'oläj jöb' "blessed rain") or stand as predicates (Utziläj runa'oj "He is very kind").

Comparing: chuwäch, mas, ri, achi'el#

Kaqchikel has no "-er" and, in its traditional form, no word for "more" or "than". A comparison states the quality and then says that one thing has it chuwäch "in front of" the other, the same chuwäch you met as a place word in Chapter 5. With a first or second person it means "in my eyes, in your eyes": chi nuwäch, chawäch, as in Ana's ¿Achike ri jeb'ël chawäch rat?

Nim raqän a Tz'ikin chuwäch a Tojil. Tz'ikin is taller than Tojil.

Jeb'ël re po't re' chuwäch la jun la'.
This blouse is prettier than that one.

Qasan rajil ri ichaj chuwäch ri ti'ij.
Greens are cheaper than meat.

Pim re wuj re' chuwäch ri jun chik.
This book is thicker than the other one.

Mas. Many speakers now put the Spanish loan mas "more" in front of the adjective, which makes the comparison feel like English: Rija' ri mas nim raqän "She is the taller one". It is understood everywhere, but chuwäch is the native pattern.

Implied comparison. Kaqchikel frequently does not compare at all where English would. Asked which of two blouses to buy, a speaker will say Jeb'ël ri käq "The red one is pretty", and the comparison "prettier" is understood from the situation.

Superlative. To say "the biggest, the prettiest", Kaqchikel puts ri before the adjective, treating the quality as a unique, known thing:

Rija' ri nim raqän.
She is the tallest.

Re jay re' ri nim.
This house is the biggest.

Ri käq po't ri jeb'ël.
The red blouse is the most beautiful.

An intensifier can be added for emphasis (rija' ri kan qitzij nim raqän "she is truly the tallest"), and the -aläj forms also serve as superlatives in context (Ja rija' ri utziläj "He is the best one").

Mas also forms superlatives, so ¿Achike ri mas jeb'ël? asks "which is prettier?" over two blouses and "which is prettiest?" over three. What is on the table settles it. When you need to be exact, use chuwäch for the comparative and bare ri for the superlative.

"As ... as" and "not as ... as". Equality uses achi'el "like, as": Nim ri jay achi'el ri rochoch Ajaw "The house is as big as the church". The negative "not as ... as" is built with man ... ta and achi'el:

Re samaj re' man k'ayew ta achi'el ri jun chik.
This job isn't as hard as the other one.

La jay la' man nim ta achi'el ri qochoch.
That house isn't as big as our house.

Kaqchikel strongly prefers positive comparisons. "Less green" and "less heavy" are not normally said; turn the sentence around and say that the other thing is greener or heavier.

Describing people#

Height and build. "Tall" and "short" are not single adjectives but phrases with -aqän "leg": nim raqän "tall" (literally "big his/her leg"), ko'öl raqän "short".

nim r-aqän
big 3sA-leg
"he/she is tall"

Because -aqän is a possessed body part (Chapter 4), the prefix follows the person: nim waqän "I am tall", ko'öl qaqän "we are short", e nim kaqän "they are tall". Build uses ti'oj "stout, solid", which in Kaqchikel is a compliment suggesting health and strength, with none of the sting of English "fat", and b'aq "thin".

Nim raqän ri tijonel.
The teacher is tall.

Ko'öl raqän xta Ixchel, po ti'oj.
Ixchel is short, but sturdy.

Age. For life stages the nouns do the work: ne'y "baby", ak'wal "child", ala' "boy, young man", xtän "girl, young woman", q'opoj "maiden, young woman", achin "man", ixöq "woman". For "old" use ri'j or, more respectfully, rijiläj: jun rijiläj achin "an old man", jun rijiläj ixöq "an old woman". Asking someone's age (¿Jaru ajuna'?) belongs to Chapter 9. Do not use k'ajol for "young man": it means "a man's son" (ruk'ajol "his son").

Looks and character. Jeb'ël covers "pretty, handsome, good-looking"; itzel is "ugly" as well as "bad". Cha'omaläj is "handsome, lovely". Character is described through runa'oj "his/her mind, disposition": ütz runa'oj "she is kind, nice", man ütz ta runa'oj "he is unpleasant", utziläj runa'oj "very kind".

Features. Color words combine with possessed body parts: q'ëq ruwi' "her hair is black" (-wi' "hair, top"), säq ruwäch "he is pale" (-wäch "face"), käq rupaläj "her face is red".

Jun jeb'ël xtän xta Ixchel; ütz runa'oj.
Ixchel is a pretty young woman; she is kind.

Ma Kawoq jun rijiläj achin, po samajel.
Kawoq is an elderly man, but hard-working.

Nim raqän a Tojil, q'ëq ruwi'.
Tojil is tall, with black hair.

Jobs are described with the nouns of Chapter 7: Rija' jun tijonel "He is a teacher", Ri ixöq ri' ajkem "That woman is a weaver".

"Which one?"#

There is no separate word for "which"; achike "what, who" placed before a noun asks for a choice, and the answer is the adjective with ri (or a ja ri phrase from Chapter 6):

¿Achike po't nawajo'?
Which blouse do you want?

Ri käq. / Ja ri käq ninwajo'.
The red one. / It's the red one I want.

¿Achike wuj ri awichin? / Ri k'ak'a'.
Which book is yours? / The new one.

¿Achike ri nim?
Which is the big one?

An adjective with ri stands for "the X one" everywhere: ri nim "the big one", ri ko'öl "the small one", ri jun chik "the other one".

Reading: Kawoq's family#

A short text that describes the four members of the family.

Patterns at a glance#

Position

With pronoun subjects: in nim waqän, at ti'oj, Ø jeb'ël, öj rijitäq, ïx nima'q, e jeb'ël.

Description formulas

Colors: säq, q'ëq, käq, q'än, räx (green/blue/unripe), xar, k'aqo'j, chaj; shades with C-öj: kaqköj, q'anq'öj, saqsöj, raxröj, xarxöj.

Plural adjectives: nim > nima'q; pim > pima'q; ri'j > rijitäq; ko'öl > koköj; used as predicates (e nima'q); all others unchanged, with e.

Intensifiers: janila, yalan, kan, kan qitzij, jeb'ël ütz; loman (so-so); tzay (bad excess); reduplication (ütz ütz); -aläj/-iläj (utziläj, saqaläj, rijiläj, nimaläj).

Comparison

People: nim raqän / ko'öl raqän (tall/short); ti'oj / b'aq; rijiläj; ütz runa'oj; q'ëq ruwi'.

Which one: ¿Achike NOUN ...? answered by ri ADJ / ja ri ADJ.

Vocabulary#

Reference: words from the examples#

These appear in the examples and the reading. Clothing gets its own deck in Chapter 24, and positional words like b'uyül belong to Chapter 18.

Usage and dialect notes#

Adjective before noun. The neutral, standard order puts the adjective first: jun nim jay. Adjectives can also follow their noun, an order the authors' newer grammar records as perfectly good Kaqchikel, but the prenominal order is the one the standardizers promote and the safe one for a learner to produce. What the language does avoid is a pile of adjectives before a noun: rather than stacking "big new" in front of jay, speakers split the qualities into two statements or let one follow the noun. The one common prenominal pair begins with an affectionate word: jun ti rijiläj achin "a dear little old man" (Chapter 7).

ri'j / rij. Both spellings appear in print; most speakers pronounce the glottal stop. The plural is rijitäq or rijta'q depending on the town.

räx and xar. Older speakers and traditional contexts use räx for the whole green-to-blue range; xar is the everyday modern word when blue must be kept apart from green. Räx for "unripe" and "raw" is universal.

janila / yalan are regional preferences more than differences in meaning; use whichever you hear around you. Tzay is not understood everywhere and always implies excess or harm.

mas. The loanword is everywhere in conversation, but writing and careful speech prefer the chuwäch and ri patterns. You will need both to understand people.

Compliments. Calling someone ti'oj is friendly; calling someone b'aq may sound like concern for their health. Bare ri'j of a person can sound blunt; say rijiläj.

Looking back and ahead#

Describing put together the verbless sentence of Chapter 3, the possessed nouns of Chapter 4 and the frames of Chapter 6. Chapter 9 adds numbers, ages and prices, and Chapter 18 explains the shape and posture words (b'uyül, nojinäq) that behave like adjectives.