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gichi-ogimaawi vai s/he is the highest leader: a head boss, a president, a king

gichi-ogin na a tomato

gichi-oginii-naboob ni tomato soup

gichi-onaagan ni a large dish or shallow pan: a basin, a dish pan

gichi-oodena ni a city

gichi-waazakonenjiganaaboo ni gas, gasoline

gichi-wiikaa adv tmp for a very long while

gichi-ziibi ni
  1. a big river
  2. Gichi-ziibi: the Mississippi River

gichigami ni
  1. a sea, a large lake
  2. Lake Superior

gichigamiiwashk ni a reed, a rush

gichigamiiwaabo ni [BL] ocean water; water of a great lake

gichigaad ni a right leg

gichimookomaan na
  1. a white person
  2. an American

See also: gichi-mookomaan na

gichinik ni a right hand

gichitwaawibii'igan ni sacred writing, scripture

gichiwadaawangishin vai s/he, it (animate) is stuck in the sand

gichiwam vta hold h/ back with teeth

gichiwaabikishin vai s/he is stuck on a rock, drives the boat onto rock

gichiwaagonesin vii it is stuck in the snow

Paired with: gichiwaagoneshin vai

gichiwaagoneshin vai s/he is stuck in the snow

gichiwaakwa'an vti pin it down, clamp it down

(derived noun) gichiwaakwa'igan ni [BL] something that pins or clamps things down: a peg, a clamp, a clothespin, a safety ring on a trap
gichiwaakwa'igan ni [BL] something that pins or clamps things down: a peg, a clamp, a clothespin, a safety ring on a trap

gichiwaakwaji vai s/he, it (animate) gets snagged, gets caught up on something stick-like

gichiwibiisaanishi vai s/he is stranded because of the rain

gichiwijiishkiwesin vii it is stuck in the mud

Paired with: gichiwijiishkiweshin vai

gichiwijiishkiweshin vai s/he, it (animate) is stuck in the mud

Paired with: gichiwijiishkiwesin vii

gichiwim vta talk h/ out of going

gichiwin vta hold h/ back; keep h/ from going

Paired with: gichiwinan vti

gichiwinan vti hold it back, keep it from going

Paired with: gichiwin vta

gichiwise vai s/he or it (animate) comes to a stop and is stuck or held back

Paired with: gichiwise vii

gichiwise vii it comes to a stop and is stuck or held back

Paired with: gichiwise vai

gichiwisin vii it is stuck

gichiwishkaa vii it gets stuck

Paired with: gichiwishkaa vai

gichiwishkaa vai sh/e, it (animate) gets stuck

Paired with: gichiwishkaa vii

gichizid ni right foot

gid= pf you [the one or ones spoken to; the second person]; your [the one or ones spoken to; the second person]

gidagagwadaashi na a crappie

[
black crappie
; 
Pomoxis nigromaculatus
]

gidaganaga'e vai s/he (a fish) has variegated scales, has scales of several colors

gidaganagekozi vai s/he (a tree) has spotted bark

gidaganashkidii vai s/he (a bird) has a spotted tail

gidagaa vii it is spotted, is multi-colored

Paired with: gidagizi vai

gidagaa-bizhiw na a bobcat

[
Lynx rufus
]

gidagaabikad vii it (mineral) is spotted, is multi-colored

Paired with: gidagaabikizi vai

gidagaabikizi vai s/he (mineral) is spotted, is multi-colored

Paired with: gidagaabikad vii

gidagaakigane vai s/he has a spotted chest

gidagaakoons na a fawn

gidagibii'an vti draw dots or spots on it

(detransitive) gidagibii'ige vai s/he draws dots or spots gidagibii'igaade vii it has dots or spots drawn on
gidagibii'igaade vii it has dots or spots drawn on

gidagibii'ige vai s/he draws dots or spots

gidagigwane vai s/he (a bird) has spotted feathers

gidagimakakii na a leopard frog

[
northern leopard frog
; 
Lithobates pipiens
]

gidagizi vai s/he is spotted, is multi-colored

gidagiigad vii it (sheet-like) is spotted, is multi-colored

Paired with: gidagiigizi vai

gidagiigin ni calico, print cotton fabric

gidagiigizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is spotted, is multi-colored

Paired with: gidagiigad vii

gidagiingwe vai s/he has spots on h/ face, has freckles on h/ face

gida'amaw vta remove (it) for h/ (using something)

gida'an vti remove it, take it off or out (using something)

Paired with: gida'wi vta [NI]

(benefactive) gida'amaw vta remove (it) for h/ (using something)
gida'wi vta [NI] remove h/ or it (animate), take h/ or it (animate) off or out (using something)

Paired with: gida'an vti

gidamo vta eat all of h/, eat h/ up

Paired with: gidaan vti4

gidamwi vta eat h/ or it (animate) all up

gidanem vti get it (animate) out of the mouth, spit it (animate) out of the mouth

Paired with: gidanendan vti

gidanendan vti get it out of the mouth, spit it out of the mouth

Paired with: gidanem vti

gidasamaw vta parch (it) for h/

gidasan vti roast it to remove something, parch it [wild rice]

(benefactive) gidasamaw vta parch (it) for h/ (detransitive) gidasige vai s/he roast things (to remove something), parches wild rice (verb of undergoing) gidasigaade vii it is roasted (to remove something), is parched [of wild rice] (derived noun) gidasigan ni parched wild rice
gidasigan ni parched wild rice

gidasigaade vii it is roasted (to remove something), is parched [of wild rice]

gidasige vai s/he roast things (to remove something), parches wild rice

gidashkibide vii it is threshed and winnowed in a machine

gidashkibidewaabik ni a threshing machine for wild rice

gidashkibidoon vti2 remove the husk of it (wild rice) by hand

gidashkishkan vti remove the husk of it (wild rice) (by using the feet); dance in it (wild rice) to remove the husk

(detransitive) gidashkishkige vai s/he removes the husks of wild rice using the feet; s/he dances on wild rice to remove the husks
gidashkishkige vai s/he removes the husks of wild rice using the feet; s/he dances on wild rice to remove the husks

gidawemaa nad your sibling of the opposite sex; your brother; your sister

giday nad your dog; your horse

gidaabiigibide vii it (something string-like) comes off in operation

gidaagaade all of it eaten (by someone), "they" eat all of it

gidaagaazo vai all of h/ is eaten (by someone), "they" eat all of h/

gidaa'ogo vai s/he undergoes wave action

gidaamikan nid your chin, jaw

gidaan vti4 eat all of it, eat it up

Paired with: gidamo vta

gidaanawe vai s/he eats it all, eats everything up

gidaandawe vai s/he climbs out

gidaangoshenh nad your (if you are female) cross-cousin: (a female cross-cousin: your mother's brother's daughter, your father's sister's daughter)

gidaangwe nad your sister-in-law (a female's sister-in-law)

gidaanis nad your daughter

gidaasin vii it is removed in the wind

Paired with: gidaashi vai

gidaashi vai it (animate) is removed in the wind

Paired with: gidaasin vii

gidaatabawinzo vai s/he picks berries quickly

gidaatabigaadebani'o vai s/he moves h/ legs quickly

gidaatabii vai s/he is quick, is fast (at doing something)

gidaatabowe vai [BL] s/he talks quickly making h/ self hard to understand

gidede nad your father

See also: gibaabaa nad

gidedeyinaan nad our father = grandfather

gide' nid your heart

gidenaniw nid your tongue

gidengway nid [ML] your face

gidengwaan nid [N] your face

gidenigom nad your nostril

gidimaagenim vta pity h/

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.