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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

officer
n
military officer
zhimaaganishii-ogimaa na a military officer

official
n
government official
wegimaawabid na-v a councillor, a council member, a representative; a government official

often
adv
often
moozhag adv tmp always, often, all the time

naaningim adv tmp often

oh
exclam
oh
oo pc disc oh!

oonh pc disc oh!; so...

oil
n
oil
bimide ni grease, oil, lard

Ojibwe
n
Ojibwe
anishinaabe na
  1. a person, a human (in contrast to a non-human being)
  2. an Indian (in contrast to a non-Indian), a Native (in contrast to a non-Native)
  3. an Ojibwe

ojibwe na an Ojibwe

ojibwe-anishinaabe na an Ojibwe

ojibwewanishinaabe na an Ojibwe

See also: ojibwe-anishinaabe na

be Ojibwe
anishinaabewi vai
  1. s/he is Ojibwe
  2. s/he is human
  3. s/he is Indian

ojibwewi vai s/he is Ojibwe

Ojibwe woman
ojibwekwe na an Ojibwe woman

anishinaabekwe na an Indian woman; an Ojibwe woman

anishinaabekwewi vai s/he is an Indian woman

Ojibwe man
ojibwewinini na an Ojibwe man

anishinaabe na
  1. a person, a human (in contrast to a non-human being)
  2. an Indian (in contrast to a non-Indian), a Native (in contrast to a non-Native)
  3. an Ojibwe

Ojibwe
[language]
n
call in Ojibwe
anishinaabewinikaadan vti call it in Indian (Ojibwe)

Paired with: anishinaabewinikaazh vta

anishinaabewinikaazh vta call h/ in Indian (Ojibwe)

Paired with: anishinaabewinikaadan vti

anishinaabewinikaade vii it is called in Indian (Ojibwe)

Paired with: anishinaabewinikaazo vai

anishinaabewinikaazo vai s/he is called in Indian (Ojibwe); s/he has a spirit name

Paired with: anishinaabewinikaade vii

name in Ojibwe
ojibwewinikaadan vti name it in Ojibwe

Paired with: ojibwewinikaazh vta

ojibwewinikaazh vta name h/ in Ojibwe

Paired with: ojibwewinikaadan vti

ojibwewinikaade vii it is named in Ojibwe

Paired with: ojibwewinikaazo vai

ojibwewinikaazo vai s/he is named in Ojibwe

Paired with: ojibwewinikaade vii

Ojibwe language
anishinaabemowin ni an Indian language, the Ojibwe language

anishinaabemo vai s/he speaks Ojibwe, speaks an Indian language

anishinaabemotaw vta [ML] speak Ojibwe to h/; speak an Indian language to h/

anishinaabemonodaw vta [N] speak Ojibwe to h/; speak an Indian language to h/

See also: anishinaabemotaw vta [ML]

ojibwemowin ni the Ojibwe language

ojibwemo vai s/he speaks Ojibwe

ojibwemotaw vta speak Ojibwe to h/

ojibwemonodaw vta [RL] speak Ojibwe to h/

Ojibwe writing
anishinaabewibii'igan ni something written in Indian (Ojibwe), Indian (Ojibwe) writing

speak Ojibwe
anishinaabemo vai s/he speaks Ojibwe, speaks an Indian language

anishinaabemotaw vta [ML] speak Ojibwe to h/; speak an Indian language to h/

anishinaabemonodaw vta [N] speak Ojibwe to h/; speak an Indian language to h/

See also: anishinaabemotaw vta [ML]

anishinaabemonodaadiwag vai [N] they speak Ojibwe to each other

ojibwemonodaadiwag vai [RL] they speak Ojibwe to each other

ojibwemo vai s/he speaks Ojibwe

ojibwemotaw vta speak Ojibwe to h/

ojibwemotaadiwag vai they speak Ojibwe to each other

ojibwemonodaw vta [RL] speak Ojibwe to h/

write in Ojibwe
anishinaabewibii'an vti write it in Indian, write it in Ojibwe

anishinaabewibii'amaw vta write (it) in Indian (Ojibwe) to h/, write (it) in Ojibwe to h/

anishinaabewibii'igaade vii it is written in Indian (Ojibwe) by someone, "they" write it in Indian (Ojibwe)

anishinaabewibii'igan ni something written in Indian (Ojibwe), Indian (Ojibwe) writing

anishinaabewisidoon vti2 write it in Indian (Ojibwe) (e.g., a book or document); express it in Indian (Ojibwe)

anishinaabewisin vii it is written in Indian (Ojibwe) (e.g., a book or document)

old
[existing a long time]
adj
old
gete- pv lex old; old-time

gikaa vai s/he is elderly, is old, is aged

gitaadizi vai s/he is elderly, is old, is aged

look old
getenaagozi vai s/he [an animate thing] looks old, appears old

Paired with: getenaagwad vii

getenaagwad vii it looks old, appears old

Paired with: getenaagozi vai

gichi-aya'aawinaagozi vai s/he looks like an old person

someone old
gete-aya'aa na someone old

something old
gete-aya'ii ni something old

gete-ayi'ii ni something old

old lady
n
old lady
mindimooyenh na an old woman, an old lady

mindimooyenyiwi vai she is an old woman, is an old lady

old man
n
old man
akiwenzii na an old man

akiwenziiyiwi vai he is an old man

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.