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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

ba- pv dir here; hither; this way; toward the speaker

► bi- pv dir

babagiwayaan ni a shirt, (a piece of) cloth

See also: bagiwayaan ni [LLC]

babagiwayaanegamig ni a tent

See also: bagiwaanegamig ni [BL]

babagiwayaanegamigwegin ni (a piece of) canvas

babagiwayaanekizin ni a tennis shoe, a canvas shoe

babagiwayaaniigin ni (a piece of) cloth, a rag

babanaadendam vai2 s/he is discouraged, is in despair, thinks things hopeless

babanaadendan vti be discouraged about it, be in despair about it, think it is hopeless

Paired with: babanaadenim vta

babanaadenim vta be discouraged about h/, be in despair about h/, think h/ hopeless

Paired with: babanaadendan vti

babanaadenimo vai s/he thinks h/self hopeless, has no faith in h/ self

babazigwiiwag vai they each stand up

babaa- pv dir going about, going around

babaa-ayaa vai s/he goes around, wanders about

babaaganowe vai s/he has h/ cheeks swell up, has swollen cheeks

babaagidoone vai s/he has swollen lips

babaagidooskwane vai s/he has swollen elbows

babaagigaade vai s/he has swollen legs

babaagigidigwe vai s/he has swollen knees

babaaginike vai s/he has swollen arms

babaagininjii vai s/he has swollen hands

babaaginiishkwe vai s/he has swollen glands

babaagitawage vai s/he has swollen ears

babaagizide vai s/he has swollen feet

babaamadaawangose vai s/he walks about on sand

babaamadaawe vai s/he goes about trading

babaamadaawewinini na a peddlar

babaamademo vai s/he goes about crying

babaamadewe vai s/he goes, walks about on the snow crust

babaama'adoo vai s/he walks about on a road or trail

babaama'amaazo vai s/he goes about singing

babaama'azh vta track h/ about

babaama'oojige vai s/he transports something about (especially on the water), leads or tows something about on the water

babaama'oozh vta transport h/ around (especially by boat)

babaamakii'ige vai [S] s/he poles a boat around

See also: babaamakii'o vai [BL]

babaamakii'o vai [BL] s/he poles a canoe around

See also: babaamakii'ige vai [S]

babaamakwazhiwe vai s/he paddles around in a circle; it (animate) swims about (as a fish)

babaamanaandam vai2 s/he goes about hungry

babaamanokii vai s/he works around

babaamanookii vai s/he goes around hiring people

babaamanoozo vai s/he goes about smoking tobacco

babaamaabate vii it (smoke) goes about

babaamaabiigin vta lead h/ around on a leash or line

babaamaaboode vii it drifts about on the current

Paired with: babaamaaboozo vai

babaamaaboozo vai s/he or it (animate) drifts about on the current

Paired with: babaamaaboode vii

babaamaadaga'oodoon vti pull, tow it about through the water

babaamaadagaa vai s/he swims about

See also: babaamaadage vai [BL]

babaamaadagaako vai s/he goes about on the ice

babaamaadagaakobatoo vai s/he runs about on the ice, around on the ice

babaamaadagaazii vai s/he wades about

babaamaadage vai [BL] s/he swims about

See also: babaamaadagaa vai

babaamaada'e vai s/he skates about

babaamaada'ookii vai s/he distributes things around, passes things around

babaamaadizi vai s/he lives about; s/he travels about

babaamaadizii-makak ni a suitcase

babaamaagime vai [S] s/he snowshoes about

babaamaagimebatoo vai s/he runs about in snowshoes

babaamaagimose vai [BL] s/he snowshoes about

babaamaagiwebishkige vai [BL] s/he bicycles about or around, rides about or around on a bicycle

babaamaagonagii vai s/he goes about in the snow

babaamaagone vai s/he goes around through the snow

babaamaagonebizo vai s/he drives around in the snow

babaamaa'ago vai s/he or it (animate) drifts about or around on the waves

Paired with: babaamaa'an vii See also: babaamaa'ogo vai

babaamaa'an vii it drifts about or around on the waves

Paired with: babaamaa'ago vai ; babaamaa'ogo vai

babaamaa'ogo vai s/he or it (animate) drifts about or around on the waves

Paired with: babaamaa'an vii See also: babaamaa'ago vai

babaamaajimo vai s/he spreads the news about

babaamaajimoo-mazina'igan ni a newspaper

babaamaakwii vai s/he goes about in the woods

babaamaanakwad vii clouds go about

babaamaandawaadan vti climb about on it

Paired with: babaamaandawaazh vta

babaamaandawaazh vta climb about on h/

Paired with: babaamaandawaadan vti

babaamaandawe vai s/he climbs about

babaamaandawebatoo vai s/he climbs around quickly

babaamaanimizi vai s/he goes about in fear

babaamaapi vai s/he goes around laughing

babaamaasin vii it is blown about (by the wind); it sails, soars about

Paired with: babaamaashi vai

babaamaashi vai s/he is blown about (by the wind); sails, soars about

Paired with: babaamaasin vii

babaamaashiiwinini na a sailor

babaamaawadoon vti2 haul it about

Paired with: babaamaawazh vta

babaamaawanidiwag vai s/he travels around in a group

babaamaawazh vta guide h/ around; haul h/ around

Paired with: babaamaawadoon vti2

(reciprocal) babaamaawanidiwag vai s/he travels around in a group
babaamaazhagaame vai s/he goes around on the shore

babaamaazakonenjige vai s/he goes about with a light

babaamendam vai2 s/he pays attention, worries

babaamendan vti pay attention to, be preoccupied with, worry about, bother it

Paired with: babaamenim vta

babaamenim vta pay attention to, worry about, be preoccupied with, bother h/

Paired with: babaamendan vti

babaamiba'idiwag vai they run about together, run around together

babaamiba'igo vai s/he rides about, drives about (drawn by horse or dog)

babaamibatoo vai s/he runs about, runs around

(applicative) babaamibatwaadan vti run about, run around with it (applicative) babaamibatwaazh vta run about, run around with h/
babaamibatwaadan vti run about, run around with it

babaamibatwaazh vta run about, run around with h/

babaamibide vii it speeds about, drives about, flies about

Paired with: babaamibizo vai

babaamibizo vai s/he speeds about, drives about, flies about

Paired with: babaamibide vii

babaamibizo' vta drive h/, it (animate) about

babaamibizoni' vta drive h/ around

babaamibizonitoon vti2 drive it about

babaamibizotoon vti2 [BL] drive it about

babaamibiisaa vii rain goes about

babaamidaabaadan vti drag, pull it about

Paired with: babaamidaabaazh vta

babaamidaabaade vii it is pulled, pushed, or dragged about (on something)

babaamidaabaazh vta drag, pull h/ about

Paired with: babaamidaabaadan vti

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.