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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

ginwegambizo vai she wears a long skirt

ginwegi' vta make it (animate; sheet-like) long

Paired with: ginwegitoon vti2

ginwegitoon vti2 make it (sheet-like) long

Paired with: ginwegi' vta

ginwegizh vta cut it (animate; sheet-like) long

Paired with: ginwegizhan vti See also: ginwegizhwi vta [NI]

ginwegizhan vti cut it (sheet-like) long

Paired with: ginwegizh vta ; ginwegizhwi vta [NI]

ginwegizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is long

Paired with: ginwegad vii

ginwegizhwi vta [NI] cut it (animate; sheet-like) long

Paired with: ginwegizhan vti See also: ginwegizh vta

ginwenzh adv tmp for a long time, for a long while

ginwiindimaa vii it (body of water) has a deep bottom

ginzhizha adv man

ginzhizhawizi vai s/he is a hard worker, is active, is energetic; s/he is skilled, is very competent, knows what s/he is doing

ginzhizhawizii vai [BL] s/he is a hard worker, is active, is energetic; s/he is skilled, is very competent, knows what s/he is doing

gipagadin vii it is frozen thick

Paired with: gipagaji vai

gipagadowe vai s/he has thick fur

gipagaji vai it (animate) is frozen thick

Paired with: gipagadin vii

gipagakwad vii it is a thick cloud or cloud cover

gipaganagekozi vai it (animate) has thick bark

Paired with: gipaganagekwad vti

gipaganagekwad vti it has thick bark

Paired with: gipaganagekozi vai

gipagawe vai s/he has thick fur

gipagaa vii it is thick

Paired with: gipagizi vai

gipagaabikad vii it (mineral) is thick

Paired with: gipagaabikizi vai

gipagaabikizi vai it (animate; mineral) is thick

Paired with: gipagaabikad vii

gipagaabiigad vii it (string-like) is thick

Paired with: gipagaabiigizi vai

gipagaabiigizi vai it (animate; string-like) is thick

Paired with: gipagaabiigad vii

gipagaakozi vai it (animate; stick-like) is thick

Paired with: gipagaakwad vii

gipagaakwad vii it (stick-like) is thick

Paired with: gipagaakozi vai

gipagaakwadin vii it freezes thick, is frozen thick

Paired with: gipagaakwaji vai

gipagaakwaji vai s/he freezes thick, is frozen thick

Paired with: gipagaakwadin vii

gipagaanikwe vai s/he has thick hair

gipagemikwaane vai s/he (a turtle) has a thick shell

gipagide vii it gets thick (by heat)

Paired with: gipagizo vai

gipagidoone [N] s/he has thick lips

gipagi' vta make h/ thick, thicken h/

Paired with: gipagitoon vti2

gipagijiishkiwagad vii it is thick as mud

gipagikodan vti slice it thick

Paired with: gipagikozh vta

gipagikonaye vai s/he wears a thick layer of clothes

gipagikozh vta slice h/ thick

Paired with: gipagikodan vti

gipagisidoon vti2 lay it on thick

Paired with: gipagishim vta

gipagisin vii it lies in a thick layer

Paired with: gipagishin vai

gipagishim vta lay h/ on thick

Paired with: gipagisidoon vti2

gipagishin vai s/he lies in a thick layer

Paired with: gipagisin vii

gipagitoon vti2 make it thick, thicken it

Paired with: gipagi' vta

gipagizh vta cut h/ thick

Paired with: gipagizhan vti

gipagizhan vti cut it thick

Paired with: gipagizh vta

gipagizi vai it (animate) is thick

Paired with: gipagaa vii

gipagizo vai s/he gets thick (by heat)

Paired with: gipagide vii

gipagiigad vii it (sheet-like) is thick

Paired with: gipagiigizi vai

gipagiigizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is thick

Paired with: gipagiigad vii

gipan nid your lung

gipigay nad [BL] your rib

gipigemag nid [ML] your rib

gipikwan nid your back

gisayenh nad your older brother

gisinaa vii it is cold (weather)

gisinaa-dibikad vii it is a cold night

gishimis nad your niece (cross niece: female's brother's daughter or male's sister's daughter)

gishiime nad your younger sibling (brother or sister); your younger parallel cousin (father's brother's child; mother's sister's child)

gishkanzh nad
  1. your (sg) nail (fingernail, toenail)
  2. your (sg) claw

gishkishenh na a female dog; a mare

gishkiinzhig nid your eye

gishtigwaan nid your head

gishtigwaanigegan nid your skull

gitawag nid your ear

gitaadizi vai s/he is elderly, is old, is aged

gitaakopizowin ni leash for tying up an animal

See also: gitaakwapizon ni

gitaakwa'igaagen vai + o use it (stick-like) to hold something down; use it (stick-like) to stake something down

gitaakwapidoon vti2 tie it to something (e.g., a post)

Paired with: gitaakwapizh vta

gitaakwapizh vta tie h/ to something (e.g., a post)

Paired with: gitaakwapidoon vti2

gitaakwapizo vai h/ is tied to something (e.g., a post)

gitaakwapizon ni leash for tying an animal down

See also: gitaakopizowin ni

gitaamika'an vti anchor it

gitaamika'igan ni an anchor

gitaamika'ige vai s/he anchors a boat, sets anchor

gitenim vta think highly of h/, respect h/

gitigaadan vti plant it

Paired with: gitigaazh vta

gitigaade vii h/ is planted

Paired with: gitigaazo vai

gitigaan ni a field, a garden, a farm

gitigaanens ni a vegetable

gitigaanensi-naboob ni vegetable soup

gitigaazh vta plant h/

Paired with: gitigaadan vti

gitigaazo vai h/ is planted

Paired with: gitigaade vii

gitige vai s/he plants, gardens, farms

(applicative) gitigaadan vti plant it (applicative) gitigaazh vta plant h/ (derived noun) gitigaan ni a field, a garden, a farm gitigaanens ni a vegetable
gitigewigamig ni a barn; a farm building

gitigewikwe na a farmer (female)

(verb of being) gitigewikwewi vai she is a farmer
gitigewikwewi vai she is a farmer

gitigewinini na a farmer

(verb of being) gitigewininiiwi vai he is a farmer
gitigewininiiwi vai he is a farmer

gitigwaan nid [BL] your head

gitimi vai s/he is lazy, is shiftless, is incompetent

(verb of addiction) gitimishki vai s/he is habitually lazy, is a lazybones
gitimishki vai s/he is habitually lazy, is a lazybones

gitizi vai s/he is elderly, is old, is aged

gitizii-diba'amaagoowin ni old-age pension, social security pension

gitwen adv man do something against one's will or better judgement

giwiiw nad your wife

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

gizhakone vii it has a hot flame, is a hot flame

gizhanaamo vai s/he has hot breath, fevered breath

gizhaabasan vti cook it by steaming; microwave it

gizhaabate vii it is a hot draft, smoke, or vapor

gizhaabate-gizhaabikizigan ni a microwave oven

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.