Dusun has a rich stock of adjectives—mostly native, with a few adapted from Malay—that describe a noun’s quality or condition (size, color, speed, texture, age, health, etc.). When the adjective is the main statement about something, Dusun typically places the adjective first and the subject after it (ADJ + subject), foregrounding the noun’s character or condition before the subject.
Note on emphasis: Dusun often foregrounds the adjective to highlight the noun’s condition or character, so the natural, everyday order is ADJ + subject (e.g. olombon ih John “John is fat”). By contrast, Malay more commonly places the subject before the description (e.g. Malay: John gemuk), so the state follows the person. Both orders can occur in Dusun (see ih John nopo nga olombon for a more formal/identificational pattern), but the ADJ-first order is used frequently because it places immediate attention on the quality or condition being described.
Examples:
• Dusun (natural): olombon ih John — “John is fat.”
• Malay (typical): John gemuk — “John is fat.”
• Dusun (formal/emphatic): ih John nopo nga olombon.
In Dusun, most of the adjectives (though not all) begin with vowels like O or A. Examples include: olombon (fat), alaju (fast), agahui (skinny), atarang (bright), oringang (fast).
The most commonly used intensifier for adjectives in Dusun is tomod, which means very, really, so, or too (equivalent to sangat or sungguh in Malay).
Rule: tomod always comes after the adjective:
In Dusun, you can transform verbs into adjective-like forms to describe either:
To describe whether something is drinkable, climbable, pushable, etc., use the prefixes:
These forms describe what can be done to an object — often translated as “able to be ___.”
| Verb (root) | Adjective | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| takad | atakad | climbable |
| tulud | otulud | pushable |
| inum | oinum | drinkable |
| gampot | agampot | reachable |
Examples:
When you want to say that a person or subject is able to do something, use:
Examples:
In Dusun, adjectives can form nouns using different prefixes. These nouns may express an abstract quality (like “fatness” or “sweetness”) or refer to a person who possesses that quality.
This prefix turns an adjective into a noun referring to the quality or state.
This prefix refers to a person characterized by that adjective.
The prefix t- can be added to adjectives or verb-like forms to create a noun that refers to:
This form is usually used together with ih, which marks it clearly as a noun.
It is often translated as:
| Adjective | Noun Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aragang (red) | ih taragang | the red one |
| alawa (beautiful) | ih talawa | the beautiful one |
| amahal (expensive) | ih tamahal | the expensive one |
The t- prefix can also be added to forms like okito, orongou, and orotihan, which describe what can be done to something.
| Form | Noun Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| okito (visible / can be seen) | ih tokito | things that can be seen |
| orongou (can be heard) | ih torongou | things that can be heard |
| orotihan (understandable) | ih torotihan | things that can be understood |
The t- form does not express an abstract idea (like “fatness”) or a type of person. Instead, it refers to a specific thing or object described by the adjective or action — similar to “the one that is…” or “things that can be…” in English.
In Dusun, adjectives can be turned into verbs using specific prefixes to express either:
The two most common prefixes are:
si- → expresses desire or intentionpapa- / popo- → expresses causation or action towards change| Adjective | Verb (Desire)si- + adj |
Verb (Cause)papa-/popo- + adj |
|---|---|---|
| olombon (fat) | silombon – want to be fat | popolombon – to fatten (someone/something) |
| alaju (fast) | silaju – want to be fast | papalaju – to speed up |
Examples:
Note: Many Dusun forms that look like adjectives (especially those beginning with a- or o-) are actually derived from verb roots. These forms behave like stative verbs, which is why they can take common verb prefixes such as naka-, noko-, si-, and papa-/popo-.
🔎 Practice Time
Make 2 verbs and 2 nouns from the adjective osogit (cold):
Understanding how adjectives interact with verbs and nouns helps you express qualities, emotions, and intentions more naturally in Dusun. Try using what you’ve learned in your own daily sentences!
Want to study every adjective in the dictionary? Use the Flashcards and Quiz modules. The flashcards let you review Dusun words with English glosses and example uses (and listen to pronunciation). After reviewing, take the Quiz (Adjective category) to test your recall and reinforce learning.
Tip: study the flashcards by group (Appearance / Emotional / General) and repeat the short quizzes until you feel confident.