Search the dictionary Advanced Search

How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

inzhishenh nad es
Listen

my uncle (cross-uncle: mother's brother)

Note:
Someone's mother's brother and their father's brother are both called uncle in English but in Anishinaabemowin they are called by different words. The mother's brother is a cross-uncle. There is no simple independent word for this relative. A personal prefix goes with a dependent noun stem /=zhisheny-/ uncle (cross-uncle: mother's brother) to make a full word:
  • nizhishenh, inzhishenh, nzhishenh my uncle (cross-uncle) (1s-3s)
  • gizhishenh your uncle (cross-uncle) (2s-3s)
  • ozhishenyan h/ uncle (cross-uncle)
    • [MN] ozhishenyan h/ uncle (cross-uncle)/ uncles (cross-uncles) (3s-3')
    • [BL] ozhishenyan h/ uncle (cross-uncle)r (3s-3's)
    • [BL] ozhishenya' h/ uncles (cross-uncles) (3s-3'p)
Some basic forms of nizhishenh, inzhishenh, nzhishenh my uncle (cross-uncle) are:



nizhishenh sg; inzhishenh sg; nizhishenyag pl; inzhishenyag pl; Stem: /=zhisheny-/

nizhishenh sg nj
Listen

inzhishenh sg gh
Listen

es
Listen

nizhishenyag pl nj
Listen

inzhishenyag pl gh
Listen

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.

Word Family

=zhisheny- nad STEM FOR: uncle (cross-uncle: mother's brother)
inzhishenh nad my uncle (cross-uncle: mother's brother) gizhishenh nad your uncle (cross-uncle: mother's brother) ozhishenyan nad h/ uncle (cross-uncle: mother's brother)

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.

  • Audio recordings
  • Images
  • Video
  • Documents

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.