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desaakwa'oozh vta transport h/ on top of something on the water

Paired with: desaakwa'oodoon vti2

desaandagizi vai s/he (tree) has flat needles

desaasin vii it soars, sails on the level

See also: desaashi vai

desaashi vai s/he soars, sails on the level

Paired with: desaasin vii

desi- pv lex flat

desi-wiiwakwaan ni a hat with full brim

desinaagan ni a dinner plate

desinaaganens ni [BL] a saucer

See also: desinaagaans ni [S]

desinaagaans ni [S] a saucer

See also: desinaaganens ni [BL]

desiiwakwaan ni a hat with a brim

detibised na-v wheel

detiwe pc disc oops! damn! [expression of displeasure at accident or mistake]

See also: etiwe pc disc ; tiwe pc disc

dewaabide vai s/he has a toothache

dewaabide-mashkiki ni toothache medicine

dewaakigan vai [C] [S] s/he has chest pain; h/ chest aches

See also: dewaakigane vai [N]

dewaakigane vai [N] s/he has chest pain; h/ chest aches

See also: dewaakigan vai [C] [S]

dewaawigan vai [C] s/he has a backache

See also: dewaawigane vai [N]

dewaawigane vai [N] s/he has a back ache

dewe'igan na a drum

(verb of making) dewe'iganike vai s/he makes a drum or drums (verb of possession) odewe'igani vai s/he has a drum or drums
dewe'iganaak ni a drumstick

dewe'iganike vai s/he makes a drum or drums

dewidaamikane vai h/ jaw aches, chin aches

dewidenaniwe vai h/ has a sore tongue

dewidoone vai h/ mouth aches

dewigane vai s/he has aches or pains in h/ bones

See also: dadewigane vai

dewigaade vai s/he has an ache in h/ leg

dewigidigwe vai h/ knee aches

dewigwayawe vai s/he has ache in h/ neck

dewijaane vai h/ nose aches

dewijiizi vai s/he has a stomachache

dewikwe vai s/he has a headache

(verb of addiction) dewikweshki vai s/he has chronic headaches
dewikwe-mashkikiins ni an aspirin

dewikwengwaam vai [S] s/he has a headache from sleeping too long

dewikwese vai s/he gets a sudden headache

dewikweshki vai s/he has chronic headaches

dewimisade vai s/he has a stomachache

dewinawe vai [LLC] h/ cheek aches or cheeks ache

dewinike vai s/he has an ache in h/ arm

dewininjii vai s/he has an ache in h/ hand

dewipikwan vai [C] s/he has a backache

See also: dewipikwane vai

dewipikwane vai s/he has a backache

See also: dewipikwan vai [C]

dewishkiinzhigwe vai h/ eye aches or eyes ache

dewitawage vai s/he has an earache

dewitigwaane vai [BL] s/he has a headache

dewizi vai s/he aches, has an ache

dewizide vai s/he has an ache in h/ foot, h/ foot aches

dewizhiigane vai s/he has pain in h/ hip

di vai s/he has something the matter with h/

di- vai s/he has a certain thing the matter with h/; s/he is in a certain condition

diba' vta pay for h/ or it (animate); bail h/ out

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

diba'akii vai s/he surveys land

diba'akiiwinini na a surveyor

diba'amaw vta pay h/ for (it), pay (it) to him

diba'amaadiwag vai they pay each other for (it)

diba'amaage vai s/he pays people for (something)

diba'amaazo vai

diba'an vti pay it, pay for it

Paired with: diba' vta

(verb of undergoing) diba'igaade vii it is paid, paid for (by someone), "they" pay it or for it (verb of undergoing) diba'igaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is paid for (by someone), "they" pay for h/ or it (animate) (detransitive) diba'ige vai s/he pays things; s/he measures things
(derived noun) diba'igan adv num
  1. an hour
  2. a mile
diba'igaans adv num
  1. a minute
  2. an acre
 (verb of being) diba'igane vii [N] it is a certain time in hours; it is a distance in miles
diba'igese vii it pays off, pays for itself
(benefactive) diba'amaw vta pay h/ for (it), pay (it) to him
(reciprocal) diba'amaadiwag vai they pay each other for (it) (detransitive) diba'amaage vai s/he pays people for (something)
diba'aatigwaan ni a measuring used for measuring: a yardstick, a timber measuring stick, [esp. diminutive] a ruler

diba'aatigwe vai s/he scales timber

diba'igan adv num
  1. an hour
  2. a mile

► daso-diba'igan qnt num

diba'igane vii [N] it is a certain time in hours; it is a distance in miles

diba'iganed vii [S]
  1. it is a time in hours
  2. it is a distance in miles

► daso-diba'iganed vii [S]

diba'iganeyaa vii [BL] it is a time in hours

► daso-diba'iganeyaa vii [BL]

diba'igaade vii it is paid, paid for (by someone), "they" pay it or for it

diba'igaans adv num
  1. a minute
  2. an acre

► daso-diba'igaans qnt num

diba'igaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is paid for (by someone), "they" pay for h/ or it (animate)

diba'ige vai s/he measures things; s/he pays things

diba'igese vii it pays off, pays for itself

diba'igeziswaan na [RL] a clock

See also: diba'igiiziswaan na

diba'igeziswaanens na [RL] a watch

See also: diba'igiiziswaanens na

diba'igiiziswaan na a clock

See also: diba'igeziswaan na [RL]

diba'igiiziswaanens na a watch

See also: diba'igeziswaanens na [RL]

diba'iminaan adv num bushel, container for dry measure

diba'oobaan adv qnt [BL] gallon

diba'oozh vta parcel things out to h/; ration out to h/

diba'wi vta [NI] pay for h/ or it (animate); bail h/ out

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

dibaabam vta inspect, check up on h/ or it (animate), look h/ or it (animate) over

Paired with: dibaabandan vti

dibaabandan vti inspect, check up on it, look it over

Paired with: dibaabam vta

(benefactive) dibaabandamaw vta inspect, check up on (it) for h/, look (it) over for h/
(reflexive) dibaabandamaadizo vai s/he inspects, checks up on something for h/ self; looks something over for h/ self
dibaabiigin vta measure h/ (as with something string-like)

Paired with: dibaabiiginan vti

dibaabiiginan vti measure it (as with something string-like)

Paired with: dibaabiigin vta

dibaabiiginigan ni a tape measure
dibaabiiginigan ni a tape measure

See also: dibaabiiginiganeyaab ni

dibaabiiginiganeyaab ni a tape measure

See also: dibaabiiginigan ni

dibaabiiginige vai s/he measures something (as with something string-like)

dibaabiishkoodoon vti2 weigh it (on a scale)

Paired with: dibaabiishkoozh vta

(detransitive) dibaabiishkoojige vai s/he weighs things (on a scale) (derived noun) dibaabiishkoojigan ni a scale (derived noun) dibaabiishkoojigan qnt num a pound
dibaabiishkoojigan ni a scale

dibaabiishkoojigan qnt num a pound

► daso-dibaabiishkoojigan qnt num

dibaabiishkoojiganezi vai [BL]

dibaabiishkoojige vai s/he weighs things (on a scale)

dibaabiishkoozh vta weigh h/ (on a scale)

Paired with: dibaabiishkoodoon vti2

dibaadodan vti tell of it

Paired with: dibaajim vta

(verb of undergoing) dibaadojigaade vii it is told of, reported (by someone), "they" tell of, report it (verb of undergoing) dibaadojigaazo vai s/he is told of, reported (by someone), "they" tell of, report h/
dibaadode vii it is told around; word of it is going around

dibaadojigaade vii it is told of, reported (by someone), "they" tell of, report it

dibaadojigaazo vai s/he is told of, reported (by someone), "they" tell of, report h/

dibaajim vta tell of h/

Paired with: dibaadodan vti

dibaajimo vai s/he tells, tells a story

(applicative) dibaajimotaw vta tell (it) to h/
(reciprocal) dibaajimotaadiwag vai they tell stories to each other
(derived noun) dibaajimowin ni a story; a narrative; a report dadibaajimo vai s/he tells stories, reports
(applicative) dadibaajimotaw vta tell stories to h/
dibaajimotaw vta tell (it) to h/

(reciprocal) dibaajimotaadiwag vai they tell stories to each other
dibaajimotaadiwag vai they tell stories to each other

dibaajimowin ni a narrative; a story; a report

dibaajimoo-mazina'igan ni a newspaper

dibaajimoomagad vii it tells, reports

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.