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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

gidoonagise vai s/he falls out of a boat

gidoondan nid your heel

gidooskwan nid your elbow

gidoozhim nad
  1. your nephew (parallel nephew: a male's brother's son or a female's sister's son)
  2. your stepson

gidoozhimikwem nad your stepdaughter

gidoozhimis nad your niece (parallel niece: female's sister's daughter or male's brother's daughter)

giga nad your mother

gigabi vai s/he sits with something

gigagoode vai s/he wears a dress

gigakizine vai [BL] s/he wears moccasins or shoes

gigakizineshin vai s/he lies down or sleeps with h/ moccasins or shoes on

gigazhigane vai s/he wears socks

gigaanziyaane vai s/he wear s a diaper, has a diaper on

gigaatigwaan ni a sliver (in h/ body)

gigaatigwe vai s/he has a sliver

gigibabagiwayaane vai s/he wears a shirt

gigibabiinzikawaagane vai s/he wears a coat

gigibagizi vai it (animate) has leaves

gigibaashkizigane vai s/he has a gun on h/

gigidaabaane vai s/he has h/ car with h/

gigidig nad [ML] your knee

gigidig nid [C] [N] your knee

gigigiboodiyegwaazone vai s/he wears pants

gigigoodaase she wears a dress, has a dress on

See also: gigagoode vai

gigigwaashkonin vai + o [BL] jump with it

gigikwewe vai s/he has your woman along

gigiminjikawaagane vai s/he wears mittens

gigiminjikaawane vai s/he wears mittens

gigimitigwaabii vai s/he has a bow or bows with h/, carries a bow

gigimookomaane vai s/he has a knife on h/

gigishimon vai + o s/he dances holding something

gigishkan vti have it on (the body), bear it (on the body); wear it

Paired with: gigishkaw vta

gigishkaw vta
  1. have h/, it (animate) on (the body); wear it (animate)
  2. be pregnant with h/

Paired with: gigishkan vti

gigishkawaawaso vai she is pregnant

(derived noun) gigishkawaawasowin ni pregnancy
gigishkawaawasowin ni pregnancy

gigishkaajige vai she is pregnant

gigishkigan ni [plural] clothes; (an item of) clothing

gigitiziim nad your parent

gigiwiiwakwaane vai s/he wears a hat

gigiwiiwakwaanesin vii

gigizheb adv tmp in the morning

gigizhebaa- pv lex morning

gigizhebaa-miijin vti3 eat it for breakfast

gigizhebaa-wiisini vai s/he eats breakfast

(derived noun) gigizhebaa-wiisiniwin ni breakfast
gigizhebaa-wiisiniwin ni breakfast

gigizhebaawagad vii it is morning

gigizhebaawe vai s/he wakes up in the morning

gigizhebaawii vai s/he wakes up early

gigizhimaagane vai s/he carries a lance, spear

gigizin vai + o s/he has it in h/ possession, keeps it

gigizhiibaashka'iganimagoode vai s/he wears a jingle dress

gigondashkway nid your throat

gigozis nad your son

gigoodaas nid your dress

gigoonzhe vai s/he has h/ a child or children along with h/

gigwizis nad [BL] your son

See also: gigozis nad

gijaan nid [N] your nose

See also: gijaanzh nid [S]

gijaanzh nid [S] your nose

See also: gijaan nid [N]

gijibide vii it falls off in operation, pops off

Paired with: gijibizo vai

gijibidoon vti2 pull it off, remove it with hands

Paired with: gijibizh vta

gijibizh vta pull h/ off, remove h/ with hands

Paired with: gijibidoon vti2

gijibizo vai s/he or it (animate) exits fast, falls out or off, pops off

gijichaag nad your soul (the spirit within)

gijidaabaadan vti drag it out or off

Paired with: gijidaabaazh vta

gijidaabaazh vta drag h/ off or out

Paired with: gijidaabaadan vti

gijigadaasin vii the snow blown into ripples

gijigadaawangaa vii the sand is rippled

gijigadaawangaa'an vii there are ripples in the sand formed by waves

gijigadinaa vii there is a range of hills, a ridge

gijigaa vii it is rippled

Paired with: gijigizi vai

gijigaabikad vii it (mineral) is corrugated

gijigaagipii vai s/he has h/ ribs show

gijigaanakwagoode vii there are jagged rippled clouds

gijigemikwaane vai its (animate; turtle) shell has ridges

gijigi- pv lex zigzag, rippled

gijigi-baatepin ni [BL] a rippled potato chip

gijigi-moozhwaagan ni pinking shears

gijigijigaaneshiinh na a chickadee

[
Parus spp.
]

See also: jigijigaaneshiinh na [LLC]

gijigikodan vti carve it zigzag or rippled

Paired with: gijigikozh vta

gijigikode vii it is carved zigzag or rippled

Paired with: gijigikozo vii

gijigikozh vta carve h/ zigzag or rippled

Paired with: gijigikodan vti

gijigikozo vii it (animate) is carved zigzag or rippled

Paired with: gijigikode vii

gijigisagad vii it (board) is rippled

gijigizi vai it (animate) is rippled, has ridges

Paired with: gijigaa vii

gijigiigad vii it (sheet-like) is rippled, is zigzag

Paired with: gijigiigizi vai

gijigiigizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is rippled, is zigzag

Paired with: gijigiigad vii

gijigonewebizh vta pull it (animate) out of the mouth quickly

gijigwaadan vti remove it with something sharp

Paired with: gijigwaazh vta

gijigwaashkwani vai s/he jumps off, jumps out

gijigwaazh vta remove h/ with something sharp

Paired with: gijigwaadan vti

gijikonayezigan na hominy

gijikonayeziganaaboo ni hominey soup

gijiminagishkan vti thresh it by dancing on it

gijinagizhiin vta gut, disembowel h/

gijipizo vai s/he is belted

gijipizon ni a belt
gijipizon ni a belt

gijipizonaabik ni a belt buckle

gijipizonens ni a fan belt

gijiwebaasin vii it is blown out forcefully

Paired with: gijiwebaashi vai

gijiwebaashi vai s/he or it (animate) is blown out forcefully

Paired with: gijiwebaasin vii

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.