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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 or out

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 or out 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/; [old] feed h/ as a guest
(reflexive) giige'idizo vai s/he heals, cures h/self
giige' vta heal h/; [old] feed h/ as a guest

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

giigidoo-biiwaabikoons ni a telephone; telephone wire

giigidoowikwe na a councillor, a council member, a representative (female)

giigidoowinini na a councillor, a council member, a representative

(verb of being) giigidoowininiiwi vai s/he is a councillor, a council member, a representative
giigidoowininiiwi vai s/he is a councillor, a council member, a representative

giigoonh na a fish

See also: giingoo na [RL]

(verb of making) giigoonyike vai s/he fishes, processes fish
(derived noun) giigoonyikewin ni the fishery, commercial fishing, fish processing
giigoonyikaa vii there are (a lot of) fish
giigoonh-gokeyaw ni fish bait

giigoonhwaaboo ni fish soup

giigoonhwensikaan na [BL] a fishing lure

See also: giigoonyensikaan na [BL]

giigoonhwi-bimide ni fish grease

giigoonyensikaan na [BL] a fishing lure

See also: giigoonhwensikaan na [BL]

giigoonyikaa vii there are (a lot of) fish

giigoonyike vai s/he fishes, processes fish

giigoonyike-mookomaan ni a fishing knife

giigoonyikewin ni the fishery, commercial fishing, fish processing

giigoonyikewinini na fisherman

giigooyikewigamig ni [RL] fishery, fish processing plant

giigoozens na a minnow

giigoozhens na
  1. a minnow
  2. [BL] a compass (for finding direction)

gii' vta flee, escape, get away from h/; get away from h/

gii'iwe vai s/he escapes, gets away from people
gii'- pv tns [BL] [past tense]: -ed, was, did

See also: gii- pv tns [S]

gii'igoshimo vai s/he fasts for a vision

(derived noun) gii'igoshimowin ni fasting
gii'igoshimowin ni fasting

gii'iwe vai s/he escapes, gets away from people

giiiwitaa-minis adv loc all around the island

giijikiwenh nad your (a male's) brother, (male) parallel cousin, fellow man

giikadamanji'o vai s/he feels the cold, feels the chill

giikadaabaawe vai s/he is cold from being wet, is cold from being in the rain

giikadaawiganewaji vai s/he has a cool back

giikaji vai s/he feels cold

giikajijaanewaji vai s/he has a cold nose

giikajinaagozi vai s/he looks cold

giikajindibewaji vai h/ head is cold

giikajingwaamo vai [BL] s/he gets cold in h/ sleep

giikajininjiiwaji vai s/he has cool or cold hands

giikajitawagewaji vai s/he has cold ears

giikajizidewaji vai s/he has cold feet

giikanaabas vta smoke h/ (for preservation)

Paired with: giikanaabasan vti

giikanaabasan vti smoke it (for preservation)

Paired with: giikanaabas vta

giikanaabasigan na bacon
giikanaabasigan na bacon

giikanaabaso vai s/he is smoked

giikanaabate vii it is is smoky

Paired with: giikanaabaso vai

giikanaabate-adikameg na a smoked whitefish

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.