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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

ugly
adj
ugly
maanaadad vii it is bad, is no good, is ugly

Paired with: maanaadizi vai

maanaadizi vai s/he is ugly, is homely

Paired with: maanaadad vii

ugly name
maazhinikaade vii it has an ugly name

Paired with: maazhinikaazo vai

maazhinikaazo vai s/he has an ugly name

Paired with: maazhinikaade vii

umbilical cord
n
umbilical cord
indis nid my navel, umbilical cord

gidis nid your navel, umbilical cord

odis nid h/ navel, umbilical cord

cut umbilical cord
bakidisiizh vta cut h/ umbilcal cord

bakidisiizhige vai s/he cuts the umbilical cord

umbrella
n
umbrella
agawaate'on ni an umbrella

unable
adj
unable to drag
bwaawidaabii vai s/he is unable to pull a load, has trouble pulling a load

bwaawidaabaadan vti be unable to drag or pull it; have trouble dragging or pulling it

Paired with: bwaawidaabaazh vta

bwaawidaabaazh vta be unable to drag or pull h/; have trouble dragging or pulling h/

Paired with: bwaawidaabaadan vti

unable to burn
bwaawaakide vii it doesn't burn, is unable to burn

Paired with: bwaawaakizo vai

bwaawaakizo vai s/he doesn't burn, is unable to burn

Paired with: bwaawaakide vii

bwaawaakizan vti be unable to burn, unable to light it

Paired with: bwaawaakiz vta

bwaawaakiz vta be unable to burn, unable to light h/

Paired with: bwaawaakizan vti

unable to pull a load
bwaawidaabii vai s/he is unable to pull a load, has trouble pulling a load

bwaawidaabaadan vti be unable to drag or pull it; have trouble dragging or pulling it

Paired with: bwaawidaabaazh vta

bwaawidaabaazh vta be unable to drag or pull h/; have trouble dragging or pulling h/

Paired with: bwaawidaabaadan vti

unable to find a drink
gwiinobii vai s/he is unable to find a drink

unable to find water
gwiinoobii vai s/he is unable to find water (or another liquid)

unable to do
bwaanawitoon vti2 be unable to do or manage it

Paired with: bwaanawi' vta

bwaanawi' vta be unable to do something to or manage h/

Paired with: bwaanawitoon vti2

bwaanawichige vai s/he is unable (to do something)

bwaanawi'o vai s/he is stuck; s/he is unable to do something, is disabled

unable to manage
bwaanawi' vta be unable to do something to or manage h/

Paired with: bwaanawitoon vti2

bwaanawitoon vti2 be unable to do or manage it

Paired with: bwaanawi' vta

unable to light
bwaawaakizan vti be unable to burn, unable to light it

Paired with: bwaawaakiz vta

bwaawaakiz vta be unable to burn, unable to light h/

Paired with: bwaawaakizan vti

unable to see
gwiinawaabam vta fail to see h/, be unable to see h/

Paired with: gwiinawaabandan vti

gwiinawaabandan vti fail to see it, be unable to see it

Paired with: gwiinawaabam vta

uncle
n
There are two kinds of uncles: one is a mother's brother (sometimes called a cross-uncle) whose children are called with special cousin terms. The other is a father's brother (sometimes called a parallel uncle) whose children are called siblings (brothers and sisters).
uncle (cross-uncle)
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)

uncle (parallel uncle)
nimishoomenh nad my stepfather; my uncle (parallel uncle: father's brother)

gimishoome nad your uncle (parallel uncle: father's brother); your stepfather

omishoomeyan nad h/ uncle (parallel uncle: father's brother); h/ stepfather

uncomfortably
adv
lie uncomfortably
maazhishin vai s/he lies uncomfortably

Paired with: maazhisin vii

sit uncomfortably
maanabi vai
  1. s/he sits uncomfortably
  2. s/he is an uncomfortable or unmanageable position, isn't managing well

sleep uncomfortably
maazhingwaam vai s/he sleeps uncomfortably

uncover
vt
uncover
baakin vta uncover h/ or it (animate), open it (animate), turn it (animate) on

Paired with: baakinan vti

baakinan vti uncover it, open it up

Paired with: baakin vta

baakinamaw vta uncover (it) for h/

baakinige vai s/he opens things up, uncovers things

baakinigaade vii it is opened, uncovered (by someone), "they" open, uncover it

uncovered
adj
come uncovered
baakise vii it comes open, comes uncovered, flies open

Paired with: baakise vai

leave uncovered
baakishim vta leave h/ uncovered

Paired with: baakisidoon vti2

baakisidoon vti2 leave it uncovered

Paired with: baakishim vta

baakisin vii it is left open, is left uncovered

Paired with: baakishin vai

baakishin vai s/he is left open, left uncovered

Paired with: baakisin vii

lie uncovered
michishin vai
  1. s/he lies bare, lies uncovered
  2. s/he lies right on the floor or the ground

Paired with: michisin vii

michisin vii
  1. it lies bare, lies uncovered
  2. it lies right on the floor or the ground

Paired with: michishin vai

under
prep
Words indicating location directly underneath something may be built on the root /anaam-/. Words indicating location in a passage or tunnel underneath something may be built on the root /zhiibaa-/.
under
anaamayi'ii adv loc [S] under it

See also: anaamaya'ii adv loc [N]

anaami- pv lex under

under a board
anaami-nabagisag adv loc under a board or boards

under the bed
anaami-nibaagan adv loc under the bed

under the boat
anaamoonag adv loc under a boat or canoe

under the floor
anaamisag adv loc under the floor, in the basement

anaamisagong adv loc under the floor, in the basement

under the ground
anaamakamig adv loc under the ground

under the ice
anaamikwam adv loc under the ice

anaamiskwam adv loc under the ice

anaamizigwam adv loc under the ice

under a rock
anaamaabik adv loc under a rock

under the snow
anaamaagon adv loc under the snow

anaamaagonag adv loc under the snow

under wood
anaamaatig adv loc under wood (e.g., a fallen tree or a stick)

underwater
anaamibiig adv loc underwater

crawl under
zhiibaayoode vai s/he crawls under something, crawls though a passage

underbrush
n
dense underbrush
zazagaa vii there is dense underbrush

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.