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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

emerge
vi
emerge
mookii vai s/he emerges, surfaces, comes out of somewhere

emerge from water
mookibii vai s/he emerges from the water

Paired with: mookibii vii

emerge from sand
mookadaawangii vai s/he or it (animate) emerges from the sand, comes out of the sand

emerge in flood
mookaabaawe vai s/he comes out, emerges in the rain or flood

emerge in rain
mookaabaawe vai s/he comes out, emerges in the rain or flood

employ
[use]
vt
employ in a certain way
inaabajitoon vti2 use, employ it a certain way

Paired with: inaabaji' vta

inaabaji' vta use, employ h/ a certain way

Paired with: inaabajitoon vti2

inaabadad vii it is used in a certain way, is employed in a certain way

Paired with: inaabadizi vai

inaabadizi vai s/he is used in a certain way, is employed in a certain way

Paired with: inaabadad vii

empty
adj
empty
bizhishigozi vai s/he is empty

Paired with: bizhishigwaa vii

bizhishigwaa vii it is empty

Paired with: bizhishigozi vai

bizhishigwaabikad vii it (something of metal) is empty

empty
vt
empty
zhiigon vta empty h/

Paired with: zhiigonan vti

zhiigonan vti empty it

Paired with: zhiigon vta

zhiigonige vai s/he empties things

zhiigonamaw vta empty (it) for h/

zhiigonigaade vii it is emptied (by someone), "they" empty it

zhiigonigaazo vai it (animate) is emptied (by someone), "they" empty it (animate)

encourage
vt
encourage
wiikwazom vta persuade, urge, encourage, convince h/

end
n
at the end
ishkwe-ayi'ii adv loc at the end of it

end of the road or trail
gabekana adv loc at the end of the road or trail

come to the end
ishkwaase vii it comes to an end

wayekwaase vii it comes to an end

end of an activity
ishkwaataa vai s/he is at the end of an activity; s/he stops an activity, stops working, quits working, quits a job

go to the end
gabeshkaa vai s/he goes, comes to the end

gabeshkan vti go to the end of it; pass by or through to the end of it; complete, pass through it; succeed in it

wayekwaashkaa vii [S] it goes, comes to the end

Paired with: wayekwaashkaa vai [S] See also: wekwaashkaa vii [N]

wayekwaashkaa vai [S] s/he goes, comes to the end

Paired with: wayekwaashkaa vii [S] See also: wekwaashkaa vai [N]

wayekwaashkan vti [S] go, come to the end of it

Paired with: wayekwaashkaw vta [S] See also: wekwaashkan vti [N]

wayekwaashkaw vta [S] go, come to the end of h/

Paired with: wayekwaashkan vti [S] See also: wekwaashkaw vta

wekwaashkaa vii [N] it goes, comes to the end

Paired with: wekwaashkaa vai [N] See also: wayekwaashkaa vii [S]

wekwaashkaa vai [N] s/he goes, comes to the end

Paired with: wekwaashkaa vii [N] See also: wayekwaashkaa vai [S]

wekwaashkan vti [N] go, come to the end of it

Paired with: wekwaashkaw vta See also: wayekwaashkan vti [S]

wekwaashkaw vta go, come to the end of h/

Paired with: wekwaashkan vti [N] See also: wayekwaashkaw vta [S]

hang at the end
ishkwegoode vii it hangs at the end

Paired with: ishkwegoojin vai

ishkwegoojin vai s/he hangs at the end

Paired with: ishkwegoode vii

ishkwegoodoon vti2 hang it at the end

Paired with: ishkwegoozh vta

ishkwegoozh vta hang h/ at the end

Paired with: ishkwegoodoon vti2

lie at the end
ishkweshin vai s/he lies at the end

Paired with: ishkwesin vii

ishkwesin vii it lies at the end

Paired with: ishkweshin vai

live on the end of town
ishkwege vai s/he lives at the end of town, lives in the last house

sit at the end
ishkwebi vai s/he sits at the end

stand at the end
ishkwegaabawi vai s/he stands at the end

enema
n
enema
biindaabaawazh vta give h/ an enema

biindaabaawazo vai s/he gets an enema

enemy
n
think of someone as enemy
miigaadenim vta think of h/ as an enemy or adversary; feel like fighting h/

miigaadenindiwag vai they think of each other as enemies or adversaries; they feel like fighting each other

energetic
adj
energetic
gwaashkwezi vai s/he is eager, is energetic, is ambitious

engage
vi
engage in an activity to a certain extent
apiichitaa vai s/he engages in an activity to a certain extent, is so far along in an activity

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.