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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

m= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

madaabii vai s/he goes down to shore (or an open place)

madaabiiba'idiwag vai they run down to the water together

madaabiibatoo vai s/he runs down to the shore

madaabiibide vii it drives to shore

Paired with: madaabiibizo vai

madaabiibizo vai s/he drives to shore

Paired with: madaabiibide vii

madaabiidaabaadan vti drag it to the water

Paired with: madaabiidaabaazh vta

madaabiidaabaazh vta drag h/ or it (animate) to the water

Paired with: madaabiidaabaadan vti

madaabiidaabii'iwe vai s/he drives down to the shore

madaabiigozi vai s/he moves to the shore

madaabiijiwan vii it flows down to the shore

madaabiikawe vai s/he leaves tracks going down to the water

madaabiimon vii it (road or trail) leads to the shore

madaabiin vai + o

madaabiinigaadan vti carry it on the shoulder down to the shore, out of the bush

Paired with: madaabiinigaazh vta

madaabiinigaazh vta carry h/ or it (animate) on the shoulder down to the shore, out of the bush

Paired with: madaabiinigaadan vti

madaabiinige vai s/he carries something on h/ shoulder down to the shore, out of the bush

(applicative) madaabiinigaadan vti carry it on the shoulder down to the shore, out of the bush (applicative) madaabiinigaazh vta carry h/ or it (animate) on the shoulder down to the shore, out of the bush
madaabiinizhikaw vta chase h/ down to the lake or water

madaabiishkosiwe vai s/he goes out into a meadow

madaabiiwidamaw vta take, carry (it) down to the shore for h/

madaabiiwidoon vti2 take, carry it down to the shore

Paired with: madaabiiwizh vta

(benefactive) madaabiiwidamaw vta take, carry (it) down to the shore for h/ (detransitive) madaabiiwijige vai s/he takes, carries things down to the shore (verb of undergoing) madaabiiwijigaade vii it is taken, carried down to the shore (by someone), "they" take, carry it down to the shore (verb of undergoing) madaabiiwijigaazo vai s/he is taken, carried down to the shore (by someone), "they" take, carry h/ down to the shore
madaabiiwijigaade vii it is taken, carried down to the shore (by someone), "they" take, carry it down to the shore

madaabiiwijigaazo vai s/he is taken, carried down to the shore (by someone), "they" take, carry h/ down to the shore

madaabiiwijige vai s/he takes, carries things down to the shore

madaabiiwizh vta take, carry h/ or it (animate) down to the shore

Paired with: madaabiiwidoon vti2

madaabiiyaanimad vii the wind blows to the lake

madaabiiyaanimizi vai s/he runs down to the shore in fear

madaabiiyaawadaaso vai s/he hauls a load down to the shore

madaabiiyaawadoon vti2 haul it down to the shore

(detransitive) madaabiiyaawadaaso vai s/he hauls a load down to the shore
madaabiiyaawanidiwag vai they go down to shore in a group

madaabiiyoode vii it crawls down to the lake

madaagamin vii it is turbulent water

madaako vai s/he gets out on the ice, goes on the ice

madaakon vai + o get out on, go out on it on the ice

madenamaw vta

madendaagozi vai s/he is helpless, is good for nothing

madoodison ni [NI] [RL] a sweat lodge

See also: madoodiswan ni

madoodisonaatig] ni [NI] a sweat lodge pole

madoodisonike vai [NI] [RL] s/he puts up a sweat lodge

madoodiswan ni a sweat lodge

See also: madoodison ni [NI] [RL]

madoodiswaagen vai + o use it for a sweat lodge

madoodoo vai s/he takes a sweat bath

madoodoo'iwe vai s/he runs a sweat

madoodoowasin na a rock for a sweat lodge

madoodoowinini na a Finn

madwe- pv lex audible; being heard; making noise; visible

madwebagaasin vii the leaves can be heard blowing in the wind

madwebatoo vai s/he is heard running

madwebide vii it is heard driving, is heard running or operating, is idling

Paired with: madwebizo vai

madwebidoon vti2 make noise pulling or ripping it

Paired with: madwebizh vta

(detransitive) madwebijige vai s/he makes noise pulling or ripping something
madwebijige vai s/he makes noise pulling or ripping something

madwebizh vta make noise pulling or ripping it (animate); rustle it (animate) with hands

Paired with: madwebidoon vti2

madwebizo vai s/he is heard driving, is heard running or operating

Paired with: madwebide vii

madwebizotoon vti2 make noise starting or running it (a machine or vehicle)

madwebiisaa vii rain is audible, "you" can hear the rain

See also: madwebiisaan vii

madwebiisaan vii rain is audible, "you" can hear the rain

See also: madwebiisaa vii

madweboodoon vti2 be heard sawing or filing it

(detransitive) madweboojige vai s/he is heard sawing something
madweboojige vai s/he is heard sawing something

madwega'ige vai s/he is heard chopping, cutting something with an ax

madwega'ise vai s/he is heard chopping wood

madwegamide vii it makes noise boiling

Paired with: madwegamizo vai

madwegamijiizo vai h/ stomach growls

madwegamisin vii it is heard falling in water

Paired with: madwegamishin vai

madwegamishin vai s/he is heard falling in water

Paired with: madwegamisin vii

madwegamizan vti cause it to be heard boiling

madwegamizo vai it (animate) makes noise boiling

Paired with: madwegamide vii

madwe' vta pound on, drum on it (animate)

Paired with: madwe'an vti

madwe'an vti drum on it

Paired with: madwe' vta

(detransitive) madwe'ige vai
  1. s/he pounds on something making noise, drums on something
  2. an engine knocks
 (verb of undergoing) madwe'igaade vii it is drummed on (by someone), "they" drum on it (verb of undergoing) madwe'igaazo vai sh/e is drummed on (by someone), "they" drum on h/
madwe'igaade vii it is drummed on (by someone), "they" drum on it

madwe'igaazo vai sh/e is drummed on (by someone), "they" drum on h/

madwe'ige vai
  1. s/he pounds on something making noise, drums on something
  2. an engine knocks

madwe'ise vai s/he is heard cutting or chopping firewood

madwe'oone'ige vai s/he makes noise on or in h/ canoe

madwejiwan vii it is heard flowing

madwekamigibizo vai

madwekamigishin vai s/he is heard falling on the ground

madwekamigishkige vai s/he is heard walking on or stamping the ground

madwekwadin vii the ice is heard cracking from the cold

madwem vta chew it (animate) audibly

Paired with: madwendan vti

madwenaamo vai [BL] s/he is heard breathing, snorts, huffs and puffs

madwendan vti chew it audibly

Paired with: madwem vta

(detransitive) madwenjige vai s/he chews something audibly, is heard chewing
madwengwaam vai [ML] s/he snores, makes noise in h/ sleep

See also: madwengwaami vai [RL] ; madwengwaamo vai [BL]

madwengwaami vai [RL] s/he snores, makes noise in h/ sleep

See also: madwengwaamo vai [BL] ; madwengwaam vai [ML]

madwengwaamo vai [BL] s/he snores, makes noise in h/ sleep

See also: madwengwaami vai [RL] ; madwengwaam vai [ML]

madwenjige vai s/he chews something audibly, is heard chewing

madwesagibatoo vai s/he is heard running on the floor

madwesagishimo vai s/he is tap-dancing, is heard dancing on the floor

madwesagishin vai s/he is heard walking or falling on the floor

madwesidoon vti2 make it sound by dropping or hitting it, ring it

Paired with: madweshim vta

(detransitive) madwesijige vai s/he makes noise dropping or hitting things, rings things
madwesijige vai s/he makes noise dropping or hitting things, rings things

madwesin vii it makes noise dropping or hitting something, rings

Paired with: madweshin vai

madweshim vta make it (animate) sound by dropping or hitting it, ring it (animate)

Paired with: madwesidoon vti2

madweshin vai s/he or it (animate) makes noise dropping or hitting, it (animate) rings

Paired with: madwesin vii

madweshkan vti step on or bump it making noise

Paired with: madweshkaw vta

madweshkaw vta step on or bump h/ or it (animate) making noise

Paired with: madweshkan vti

madwetaa vai s/he is heard in an activity

madwetoo vai s/he is heard moving or doing something

madwewe vii it makes noise, resounds, reverberates

madwewechigan ni a musical instrument (especially a keyboard instrument): a piano, an organ

madwewechige vai s/he makes things sound, plays (music)

The Ojibwe People's Dictionary is developed and maintained by:
Nora Livesay, Editor
John D. Nichols, Founder and Linguistic Editor

with support and collaboration from the University of Minnesota's Department of American Indian Studies and University Libraries.

Additional Resources

Many of the words in the Ojibwe People's Dictionary have related resources. Click through to the full dictionary entry to hear audio recordings, see images, read documents and watch videos. Here's a key to resource icons.

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Individual speakers and speakers from different regions use different words when speaking. Each audio recording is marked with the initials of the Ojibwe speaker. Click on a speaker's initials to go to the speaker's bio page. If an Ojibwe word is particular to a certain region, it will be marked with a region code. Click on the region code to go to the Regions page.