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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

o'omaa adv loc here

See also: omaa adv loc

o'ow pron dem this (inanimate singular)

See also: o'owe pron dem [N]

o'owe pron dem [N] this (inanimate singular)

See also: o'ow pron dem

o'owedi pron dem this over here (inanimate singular)

See also: owedi pron dem

o'owidi adv loc over here, over this way

See also: owidi adv loc

o'oosi vai s/he has a father

See also: owoosi vai ; oyoosi vai

o'oosim vta have h/ as a father

See also: oyoosim vta ; owoosim vta

ojaan nid [N] h/ nose

See also: ojaanzh nid [S]

ojaanimakamigad vii it is a busy event

Paired with: ojaanimakamigizi vai

ojaanimakamigizi vai s/he is busy or occupied in work or activity

Paired with: ojaanimakamigad vii

ojaanimanokii vai s/he is busy working

ojaanimaapine vai s/he is very ill

ojaanimendam vai2 s/he is anxious, is impatient, is in a hurry

ojaanimi- pv lex busy; noisy

ojaanimi' vta make h/ hurry, rush h/; give h/ a hard time, get after h/, chew h/ out

Paired with: ojaanimitoon vti2

(detransitive) ojaanimi'iwe vai s/he gives people a hard time, gets after people, creates anxiety; s/he rushes people, makes people hurry (reciprocal) ojaanimi'idiwag vai they give each other a hard time, get after each other
ojaanimi'idiwag vai they give each other a hard time, get after each other

ojaanimi'iwe vai s/he gives people a hard time, gets after people, creates anxiety; s/he rushes people, makes people hurry

ojaanimim vta hurry h/ (by speech); give h/ a hard time, get after h/ (by speech)

(reciprocal) ojaanimindiwag vai they give each other a hard time, get after each other (by speech)
ojaanimindiwag vai they give each other a hard time, get after each other (by speech)

ojaanimishkaa vai s/he is in a hurry going somewhere

ojaanimitaa vai s/he is busy (in some work or activity)

ojaanimitoon vti2 be eager to do it

Paired with: ojaanimi' vta

ojaanimizekwe vai s/he cooks in a hurry

ojaanimizi vai s/he is busy

(verb of pretending) ojaanimiziikaazo vai s/he pretends to be busy
ojaanimiziikaazo vai s/he pretends to be busy

ojaanimwewidam vai2 s/he makes a racket (with h/ voice or call)

ojaanzh nid [S] h/ nose

See also: ojaan nid [N]

ojepii vai s/he is adept; s/he is quick in action,

ojibidoon vti2 draw it close, pull it out or down towards you

Paired with: ojibizh vta

ojibinigo vai s/he gets cramps, has convulsions

ojibinigogaade vai s/he gets cramps in h/ leg

ojibinigonike vai s/he gets cramps in h/ arm

ojibinigoninjii vai s/he gets cramps in h/ hand

ojibinigozide vai s/he gets cramps in h/ foot

ojibizh vta draw h/ close, pull h/ out or down towards you

Paired with: ojibidoon vti2

ojibobidoon vti2 pull it into a pucker

ojibode vii it shrivels from heat

Paired with: ojibozo vai

ojibogwaadan vti pucker it

Paired with: ojibogwaazh vta

ojibogwaade vii it is puckered

Paired with: ojibogwaazo vai

ojibogwaazh vta pucker h/

Paired with: ojibogwaadan vti

ojibogwaazo vai it (animate) is puckered

Paired with: ojibogwaade vii

ojiboshkaa vii it puckers up

ojibozo vai it (animate) shrivels from heat

ojibwaabaawe vai s/he or it (animate) puckers up in the water

ojibwaakide vii it shrivels, puckers in the fire

Paired with: ojibwaakizo vai

ojibwaakizo vai it (animate) shrivels, puckers in the fire

Paired with: ojibwaakide vii

ojibwe na an Ojibwe

(verb of being) ojibwewi vai s/he is Ojibwe
ojibwe-anishinaabe na an Ojibwe

ojibwekwe na an Ojibwe woman

ojibwemo vai s/he speaks Ojibwe

(applicative) ojibwemotaw vta speak Ojibwe to h/
(reciprocal) ojibwemotaadiwag vai they speak Ojibwe to each other
(applicative) ojibwemonodaw vta [RL] speak Ojibwe to h/
(reciprocal) ojibwemonodaadiwag vai [RL] they speak Ojibwe to each other
(derived noun) ojibwemowin ni the Ojibwe language
ojibwemonodaw vta [RL] speak Ojibwe to h/

ojibwemonodaadiwag vai [RL] they speak Ojibwe to each other

ojibwemotaw vta speak Ojibwe to h/

ojibwemotaadiwag vai they speak Ojibwe to each other

ojibwemowin ni the Ojibwe language

ojibwewanishinaabe na an Ojibwe

See also: ojibwe-anishinaabe na

ojibwewi vai s/he is Ojibwe

ojibwewibii'an vti write it in Ojibwe

(detransitive) ojibwewibii'ige vai s/he writes in Ojibwe (verb of undergoing) ojibwewibii'igaade vii it is written in Ojibwe (by someone); "they" write it in Ojibwe
ojibwewibii'igaade vii it is written in Ojibwe (by someone); "they" write it in Ojibwe

ojibwewibii'ige vai s/he writes in Ojibwe

ojibwewinikaadan vti name it in Ojibwe

Paired with: ojibwewinikaazh vta

ojibwewinikaade vii it is named in Ojibwe

Paired with: ojibwewinikaazo vai

ojibwewinikaazh vta name h/ in Ojibwe

Paired with: ojibwewinikaadan vti

ojibwewinikaazo vai s/he is named in Ojibwe

Paired with: ojibwewinikaade vii

ojibwewinini na an Ojibwe man

ojibwewisidoon vti2 put it into Ojibwe

ojibwewisin vii it is written in Ojibwe (e.g., a book)

ojichaago vai s/he has a spirit, has a soul

ojichaagobiishin vii it reflects in water

ojichaagwan nad h/ soul (the spirit within)

ojijaak na [BL] a sandhill crane

[
sandhill crane
; 
Grus canadensis
]

See also: ajijaak na

ojijise vii it passes (as time); it comes (as time)

ojijiingwanabi vai s/he kneels

ojikweni vai s/he draws h/ head in

ojiibik ni a root

(verb of being) ojiibikaawan vii it has roots (verb of being) ojiibikaawi vai it (animate) has roots
ojiibikaawan vii it has roots

Paired with: ojiibikaawi vai

ojiibikaawi vai it (animate) has roots

Paired with: ojiibikaawan vii

ojiid nid h/ anus

ojiig na a fisher

[
Martes pennanti
]

ojiigaabaawadoon vti2 shrink it (something sheet-like) in water

Paired with: ojiigaabaawazh vta

ojiigaabaawazh vta

Paired with: ojiigaabaawadoon vti2

ojiigaabaawe vii it (sheet-like) shrinks in the water

Paired with: ojiigaabaawe vai

ojiigaabaawe vai it (animate; sheet-like) shrinks in water

Paired with: ojiigaabaawe vii

ojiigi-wiiyaakwa'igan ni [BL] fisher scent used as a lure in trapping

ojiigide vii it (sheet-like) shrinks from heat

ojiigiwayaan na a fisher hide

ojiim vta kiss h/

(reciprocal) ojiindiwag vai they kiss
ojiimaani vai s/he has a boat, has a canoe

ojiindan vti kiss it

Paired with: ojiim vta

ojiindiwag vai they kiss

ojiindiwi-giizhigad vii it is New Year's Day

ojiingwanan nad h/ lap; h/ (front of) thigh

ojiishanowe vai s/he has a scar on h/ cheek

ojiishaawigane vai s/he has a scar on h/ back

ojiishidaamikane vai s/he has a scar on h/ jaw, has a scar on h/ chin

ojiishigaade vai s/he has a scar on h/ leg

ojiishigwayawe vai s/he has a scar on h/ neck

ojiishijaane vai s/he has scar on h/ nose

ojiishijiizi vai s/he has a scar on h/ belly

ojiishindibe vai s/he has a scar on h/ head

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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Speakers & Regions Key

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.