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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

baawitigweyaa vii the river has rapids in it

baazagobidoon vti2 scratch it

Paired with: baazagobizh vta

(detransitive) baazagobijige vai s/he scratches something
baazagobijige vai s/he scratches something

baazagobinidiwag vai they scratch at each other

baazagobinidizo vai s/he scratches h/ self

baazagobizh vta scratch h/

Paired with: baazagobidoon vti2

(reciprocal) baazagobinidiwag vai they scratch at each other (reflexive) baazagobinidizo vai s/he scratches h/ self
baazagoshin vai s/he gets scratched or scraped on something, falls and gets scratched or scraped

baazhida' vta step over h/ or it (animate)

Paired with: baazhida'an vti See also: baazhida'wi vta [NI]

baazhida'an vti step over it

Paired with: baazhida' vta ; baazhida'wi vta [NI]

(detransitive) baazhida'ige vai s/he steps over (thigns)
baazhida'igaade vii it is stepped over, "they" step over it

baazhida'igaazo vai s/he oor it (animate) is stepped over, "they" step over h/ or it (animate)

baazhida'ige vai s/he steps over (thigns)

baazhida'wi vta [NI] step over h/ or it (animate)

See also: baazhida' vta

baazhidaandawe vai s/he climbs over

baazhidinaw vta shoot over h/

baazhidoonese vii it goes over (the width of) the canoe

baazhijibidoon vti2 pull it over something

Paired with: baazhijibizh vta

baazhijibizh vta pull h/ over something

Paired with: baazhijibidoon vti2

baazhijidakokii vai s/he steps over something

baazhijigwaashkwani vai s/he jumps over

baazhijigwaashkwanodan vti jump over it

Paired with: baazhijigwaashkwanodaw vta

baazhijigwaashkwanodaw vta jump over h/

Paired with: baazhijigwaashkwanodan vti

baazhijijiwan vii it overflows

baazhijishkan vti go over it

Paired with: baazhijishkaw vta

baazhijishkaw vta go over h/

Paired with: baazhijishkan vti

baazhijiweba' vta knock, hit h/, it (animate) over something

Paired with: baazhijiweba'an vti

baazhijiweba'an vti knock, hit it over something

Paired with: baazhijiweba' vta ; baazhijiweba'wi vta [NI]

baazhijiweba'wi vta [NI]

► baazhijiweba' vta

baazhijiwebin vta throw h/ over

Paired with: baazhijiwebinan vti

baazhijiwebinan vti throw it over

Paired with: baazhijiwebin vta

baazhijiwebishkan vti shove, kick it over

Paired with: baazhijiwebishkaw vta

baazhijiwebishkaw vta shove, kick h/, it (animate) over

Paired with: baazhijiwebishkan vti

bebakaan adv man all different

bebakaanazhigane vai s/he wears unmatched socks

bebangii adv qnt a little bit each; a little bit at a time

bebaa- pv dir going about, going around

► babaa- pv dir

bebaamaadizid na-v a tourist; a traveller

bebesho adv loc close to one another; near together

bebezhig qnt num one-by-one

bebezhigooganzhii na a horse

See also: mishtadim na [BL] [RL]

bebezhigooganzhii-manoomin ni oats

bebezhigooganzhiiwigamig ni a horse barn

bebinezid bakwezhigan na-v flour

bebiikominagak ni-v a pill

bebookwaadaagimed giizis na-v March

beda'amaazo vai

bedakwazhiwe vai s/he paddles slowly

bedashkime vai s/he weaves snowshoe webbing slowly

bedawinzo vai s/he picks berries slowly

bedaadagaa vai s/he swims slow

See also: bedaadage vai [BL]

bedaadage vai [BL] s/he swims slow

See also: bedaadagaa vai

bedaada'e vai s/he skates slow

bedaajiwanzwaanakik na a crock-pot, a slow cooker

bedaanimad vii there is a light wind, a slow wind

bedose vai s/he walks slowly

bedowe vai s/he has a soft voice

bedoode vai s/he crawls slowly

bedwewejiwan vii the flow of the water has a low sound

bejibatoo vai s/he runs slowly

bejibide vii it runs (as a machine), operates, drives slowly

Paired with: bejibizo vai

bejibizo vai s/he runs (as a machine) operates, drives slowly

Paired with: bejibide vii

bejidaabii'iwe vai s/he drives slow

bejigamide vii it is slow to boil

bejigaa vai it (animate) drips, leaks slowly; it (animate) runs slowly (as a tree, with sap)

Paired with: bejigaa vii

bejigaa vii it drips, leaks slowly

Paired with: bejigaa vai

bejigi vai s/he grows slowly

Paired with: bejigin vii

bejigin vii it grows slowly

Paired with: bejigi vai

bejijiwan vii it flows slowly

bejise vai s/he flies slow

bejishimo vai s/he dances slowly

bejitaa vai s/he goes slow doing something, works slow

bejitaagozi vai s/he has low and soft voice

bekaa adv man hold on!; slow down!; wait!

bekaadizi vai s/he is quiet, is still, is easy-going

bekish adv tmp at the same time

bekwaawigang na-v a camel

bemaadizid na-v a person, [pl] people

bemi- pv dir along; going along; going by; going past; on the way

► bimi- pv dir

bemisemagak ni-v [C] an airplane

bengibizotoon vti2 spin dry it

bengobagaa vii there are dry leaves

bengobide vii it spin dries

bengode vii it cooks dry

Paired with: bengozo vai

bengodenaniwe vai h/ tongue is dry

bengodoone vai s/he has a dry mouth

bengojiishkiwagad vii it (something mud-like) is dry

Paired with: bengojiishkiwagizi vai

bengojiishkiwagaa vii there is dry mud

bengojiishkiwagizi vai it (animate; mud-like) is dry

Paired with: bengojiishkiwagad vii

bengopon vii there is dry snow falling

bengosidoon vti2 put it to dry

bengoshin vai s/he goes dry

bengoz vta dry h/ with heat

Paired with: bengozan vti

bengozan vti dry it with heat; heat reducing the liquid in it

Paired with: bengoz vta

bengozi vai s/he or it (animate) dries, is dry

Paired with: bengwan vii

bengozo vai s/he is cooked dry (without grease or water), is grilled

Paired with: bengode vii

bengwadaawangaa vii there is dry sand, is a dry beach

bengwadowezo vai its (animate) fur dries

bengwa' vta dry h/ (using something)

Paired with: bengwa'an vti

bengwa'an vti dry it (using something)

Paired with: bengwa' vta ; bengwa'wi vta [NI]

bengwa'wi vta [NI] dry h/ or it (animate) (using something)

Paired with: bengwa'an vti See also: bengwa' vta

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.