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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

giziindime'wi vta [NI] wipe h/ after h/ defecates

giziingwaagen vai + o wash your face with it

giziingwe vai s/he washes h/ face

giziingwe'o vai s/he wipes h/ (own) face (with something)

(derived noun) giziingwe'on na [N] a towel
giziingwe'onens na [N] a washcloth
(derived noun) giziingwe'on ni [S] a towel
giziingwe'onens ni [S] a washcloth
giziingwe'on ni [S] a towel

giziingwe'on na [N] a towel

See also: giziingwe'on ni [S]

giziingwe'onens na [N] a washcloth

See also: giziingwe'onens ni [S]

giziingwe'onens ni [S] a washcloth

See also: giziingwe'onens na [N]

giziininaagane vai [BL] s/he washs dishes

giziininaagane-giziibiiga'igan ni [BL] dish soap or detergent

giziininaaganewinaagan ni [BL] a dishpan; a kitchen sink

giziininjaagan ni a sink; a wash basin

giziininjii vai s/he wipes h/ (own) hands; s/he washes (own) h/ hands

giziininjii-giziibiiga'igan ni hand soap

giziininjiin vta wash h/ hand or hands; wipe h/ hand or hands

giziisaga'an vti mop it (a floor)

(detransitive) giziisaga'ige vai s/he mops the floor (derived noun) giziisaga'igan ni a mop
giziisaga'igan ni a mop

giziisaga'ige vai s/he mops the floor

giziisaginamaw vta wash the floor for h/; wipe the floor for h/

giziisaginan vti wash it (a floor); wipe it (a floor)

(detransitive) giziisaginige vai [BL] s/he wipes the floor; [BL] s/he washes the floor (benefactive) giziisaginamaw vta wipe the floor for h/; wash the floor for h/
giziisaginige vai [BL] s/he wipes the floor; [BL] s/he washes the floor

See also: giziibiigisaginige vai

giziisaginigewinaagan ni [BL] a mop pail (for scrubbing the floor)

gizhiise vai s/he flies fast

Paired with: gizhiise vii

gizhiise vii it flies fast

Paired with: gizhiise vai

giziisidoon vti2 wipe it against something

Paired with: giziishim vta

giziishim vta wipe it (animate) against something

Paired with: giziisidoon vti2

gizhiitigweyaa vii it is a fast river

gizhiiwe vai s/he speaks or sings loud, speaks or sings with a strong clear voice

gizhiiwegaasin vii it (sheet-like) flutters in the wind

gizhiiwewebide vii it make a loud noise speeding or operating

gizhiiwewebidoon vti2 turn it up so it is louder

gizhiiwewebiisaa vii the rain is loud

See also: gizhiiwewebiisaan vii [BL]

gizhiiwewebiisaan vii [BL] the rain is loud

See also: gizhiiwewebiisaa vii

gizhiiwewejiwan vii the flow of water sounds loud; the loud sound of the rapids can be heard

gizhiiwewendan vti make a loud noise eating it

(detransitive) gizhiiwewenjige vai s/he makes a loud noise chewing or eating
gizhiiwewengwaamo vai s/he snores loudly

gizhiiwewenjige vai s/he makes a loud noise chewing or eating

gizhiiweweyaandagaasin vii its boughs sound loud blowing in the wind

gizhiiweweyaashkaa vii the waves are loud

gizhiiwewidam vai2 s/he sounds loud, sounds loud and clear

gizhiiweyaadagaazii vai s/he wades making loud noise

giziiyaabaawadoon vti2 rinse it; wash it down

Paired with: giziiyaabaawazh vta

giziiyaabaawazh vta rinse h/ or it (animate); wash h/ or it (animate) off

Paired with: giziiyaabaawadoon vti2

giziiyaabaawe vai s/he rinses off

giziiyaabide'o vai s/he brushes h/ (own) teeth

(derived noun) giziiyaabide'on ni a toothbrush
giziiyaabide'odizo vai s/he brushes h/ (own) teeth

giziiyaabide'on ni a toothbrush

giziiyaabika'an vti wipe it (mineral or metal) (using something)

(detransitive) giziiyaabika'ige vai s/he wipes things (mineral or metal, such as dishes, a gun) (derived noun) giziiyaabika'igan ni [BL] a dish towel
giziiyaabika'igan ni [BL] a dish towel

giziiyaabika'ige vai s/he wipes things (mineral or metal, such as dishes, a gun)

gizhiiyaabogo vai s/he drifts fast

gizhiiyaadagaa vai [S] s/he swims fast

See also: gizhiiyaadaage vai [BL]

gizhiiyaadagaako vai s/he goes fast on the ice

gizhiiyaadagaakobatoo vai s/he runs fast on the ice

gizhiiyaadagaakobizo vai s/he or it (animate) drives fast on the ice

gizhiiyaadagaazii vai s/he wades fast

gizhiiyaadage vai [BL] s/he swims fast

See also: gizhiiyaadagaa vai [S]

gizhiiyaada'e vai s/he skates fast

gizhiiyaadaage vai [BL] s/he swims fast

See also: gizhiiyaadagaa vai [S]

gizhiiyaadigose vii the rapids are flowing fast

gizhiiyaajimo vai s/he tells a story fast

giziiyaakosidoon vti wipe it on something stick-like

giziiyaakwa'an vti wipe it (stick-like) off

gizhiiyaanike vai s/he digs fast

gizhiiyaanimad vii the wind blows fast

gizhiiyaasin vii it is blown fast (by the wind); sails, soars fast

See also: gizhiiyaashi vai

gizhiiyaashi vai s/he is blown fast (by the wind); sails, soars fast

Paired with: gizhiiyaasin vii

gizhiiyaate vii it (light) is bright, shines brightly

gizhiiyendam vai2 s/he thinks fast

gizhiiyose vai s/he walks fast

gizhiiyoode vai s/he crawls fast

gii- pv tns [S] [past tense]: -ed, was, did

See also: gii'- pv tns [BL]

gii- pv tns [BL] [relative tense]: while, as

giibid nid your tooth

giichibabagiwayaane vai s/he takes off h/ shirt

giichibabiinzikawaagane vai s/he takes off h/ coat or jacket

giichibiinzikawaagane' vta [BL] take off h/ coat or jacket

giichigiboodiyegwaazone vai s/he takes off h/ pants

giichigobidoon vti2 pull it off

Paired with: giichigobizh vta

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

giichigon vta remove, extricate h/; remove h/ or it (animate), take h/ or it (animate) off or out (by hand)

Paired with: giichigonan vti

giichigonan vti remove, extricate it; take it off or out

Paired with: giichigon vta

giichigotaa vai s/he works free, wiggles h/ way out

giichigwam vta pull h/ off with teeth

giichigwandan vti pull it off with teeth

Paired with: giichigwam vta

giichigwaasin vii it blows off

giichigwaashi vai it (animate) blows off

Paired with: giichigwaasin vii

giichikonaye vai [BL] s/he undresses, takes off h/ (own) clothes

(causative) giichikonaye' vta [BL] undress h/, get h/ clothes off
(reflexive) giichikonaye'idizo vai s/he undresses h/ self, gets h/ clothes off by h/ self
giichikonaye' vta [BL] undress h/, get h/ clothes off

giichikonaye'idizo vai s/he undresses h/ self, gets h/ clothes off by h/ self

giichiminjikaawane vai s/he takes off h/ mittens

giichiwakwaane vai s/he takes off h/ hat

giichiwiiwakwaane vai s/he takes h/ hat off

See also: giichiwakwaane vai

giidakiwenzii na your (if you are male) fellow old man, old companion

giige vai s/he heals up

giige' vta heal h/
(reflexive) giige'idizo vai s/he heals, cures h/self
giige' vta heal h/

giige'idizo vai s/he heals, cures h/self

giigezi s/he is satisfied

giigido vai s/he speaks; s/he phones

(derived noun) giigidowin ni
  1. a speech
  2. a telephone
giigidowin ni
  1. a speech
  2. a telephone

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.