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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

godagi' vta make h/ suffer, be cruel to h/

godagitoo vai s/he suffers

godagitoon vti2 harm, abuse, damage, injure it

godagii vai s/he goes visiting

goda'aakwaadan vti practice shooting at, take a pot shot at it

Paired with: goda'aakwaazh vta

goda'aakwaazh vta take a pot shot at h/

Paired with: goda'aakwaadan vti

goda'aakwe vai s/he tries out a gun, takes a pot shot, does target shooting

(applicative) goda'aakwaadan vti practice shooting at, take a pot shot at it (applicative) goda'aakwaazh vta take a pot shot at h/
goda'e vai s/he practices shooting

godakii'ige vai s/he tests how deep the water is

godam vta sample, taste h/; take a taste of h/

Paired with: godandan vti

godandan vti sample, taste it; take a taste of it

Paired with: godam vta

godaada'e vai s/he practices skating

godaagamandan vti try, test it (a liquid) by mouth

godaagaminan vti test it (a liquid) with the hand

godigogaadeshin vai s/he falls and sprains h/ leg

godigonikeshin vai s/he falls and sprains h/ arm

godigoninjiishin vai s/he falls and sprains h/ hand or finger

godigoshin vai s/he falls and sprains something

godigozide vai s/he sprains h/ foot

godigozideshin vai s/he falls and sprains h/ foot

godigwandan vti have it roll in mouth and slip out

godikwa'ige vai s/he checks how thick the ice is by tapping on it with something

godin vta test h/ with hand

Paired with: godinan vti

godinan vti test it with hand

Paired with: godin vta

godotaagan ni a bell

goji- pv lex attempt; try

goji-nagamo vai s/he practices singing

gojibatoo vai s/he makes a trial run

gojibidoon vti2 try, test it out with hands

Paired with: gojibizh vta

gojibinidiwag vai they wrestle each other

gojibizh vta try h/ out with hands

Paired with: gojibidoon vti2

(reciprocal) gojibinidiwag vai they wrestle each other
gojibizotoon vti2 run a test on it (machine), test drive it

gojichigaade vii it is tried out (by someone), "they" try it out

gojichigaazo vai s/he is tried out (by someone), "they" try h/ out

gojichige vai s/he tries things, practices

goji' vta try h/ out; try making h/

Paired with: gojitoon vti2

goji'ewizi vai s/he tries, makes an effort

gojimaam vta sniff, take a smell of h/

Paired with: gojimaandan vti

(reciprocal) gojimaandiwag vai they sniff, take a smell of each other
gojimaandan vti sniff, take a smell of it

Paired with: gojimaam vta

(detransitive) gojimaanjige vai s/he sniffs, takes a smell
gojimaandiwag vai they sniff, take a smell of each other

gojimaanjige vai s/he sniffs, takes a smell

gojimaas vta try smoking it (animate)

gojip vta sample, taste h/; take a taste of h/

Paired with: gojipidan vti

gojipidan vti sample, taste it; take a taste of it

Paired with: gojip vta

(detransitive) gojipijige vai s/he samples, takes a taste of something
gojipijige vai s/he samples, takes a taste of something

gojipwi vta [NI]

► gojip vta

gojisagishkan vti try, test it (floor) out with foot or body

gojitamaw vta test (it) for h/

See also: gojitaw vta

gojitaw vta test (it) for h/

See also: gojitamaw vta

gojitoon vti2 try to do or make it, try it out

Paired with: goji' vta

(benefactive) gojitaw vta test (it) for h/ (benefactive) gojitamaw vta test (it) for h/ (detransitive) gojichige vai s/he tries things, practices (verb of undergoing) gojichigaade vii it is tried out (by someone), "they" try it out (verb of undergoing) gojichigaazo vai s/he is tried out (by someone), "they" try h/ out
gokeyaw ni [N] bait

(verb of making) gokeyawike vai [N] s/he makes bait, baits something
gokeyawikaadan vti [N] bait it (verb of use) gokeyawikaagen vai + o [N] use it for bait
(verb of possession) ogokeyawin vai + o [N] have or use it/it (animate) as bait
gokeyawikaadan vti [N] bait it

gokeyawikaagen vai + o [N] use it for bait

gokeyawike vai [N] s/he makes bait, baits something

gokokwaa vii it is tippy

gomaa adv deg some degree or amount; a middling degree or amount; not too much or many, not too few

gomaa gaye adv phr

gomaa go apii adv phr just a little way, some distance; for some time, some time later

See also: gomaapii adv deg

gomaa go minik adv phr a certain amount, a certain distance, not so far

gomaapii adv deg for some time, some distance

See also: gomaa go apii adv phr

gondan vti swallow it

Paired with: gonzhi vta

gondaabiigin vta put h/ in water, dip h/

gondaabiiginan vti put it in water, dip it

Paired with: gondaabiigin vta

gonige adv pred I wonder if; I wonder whether; could you

goniginiin pc interj behold!

gonzaabii vii it sinks (in the water)

Paired with: gonzaabii vai

gonzaabii vai s/he sinks (in the water)

Paired with: gonzaabii vii

gonzaabii' vta sink h/ (using something)

Paired with: gonzaabii'an vti

gonzaabii'an vti sink it (using something)

Paired with: gonzaabii' vta

gonzaabii'wi vta [NI]

► gonzaabii' vta

gonzaabiishkoodoon vti2 sink it with weight or pressure

gonzaabiishkoojigan ni [BL] something used to hold things down in the water: an anchor, a trap weight, a sinker (fishing tackle)
gonzaabiishkoojigan ni [BL] something used to hold things down in the water: an anchor, a trap weight, a sinker (fishing tackle)

gonzaabiiyaabogo vai s/he sinks in the rapids

gonzaabiiyaaboode vii it sinks in the rapids, in the current

gonzhi vta swallow h/

Paired with: gondan vti

gopa'adoo vai s/he follows a trail inland

gopa'azh vta follow h/ trail inland

gopa'o vai s/he paddles upstream

gopamon vii it (road or trail) leads inland

gopaawadaaso vai s/he hauls a load inland

gopaawadoon vti2 haul it inland

Paired with: gopaawazh vta

gopaawazh vta haul it (animate) inland

Paired with: gopaawadoon vti2

gopiba'idiwag vai they run inland together

gopiba'igo vai s/he rides inland, drives inland (drawn by horse or dog)

gopiba'iwe vai s/he runs inland from someone

gopibatoo vai s/he runs inland

gopibatwaadan vti run it inland

gopibide vii it drives up from the water

Paired with: gopibizo vai

gopibizo vai s/he drives inland, into the woods, into the bush

Paired with: gopibide vii

gopibizo' vta drive h/ inland, into the woods, into the bush

Paired with: gopibizotoon vti2

gopibizotoon vti2 drive it inland, into the woods, into the bush

Paired with: gopibizo' vta

gopidaabii vai s/he drags or pulls a load inland, into the woods, into the bush

gopidaabii'iwe vai s/he drives inland, into the woods, into the bush; s/he drives a team inland, into the woods, into the bush

gopigozi vai s/he moves (h/ camp or residence) inland, moves (h/ camp or residence) off the lake

gopikawe vai s/he leaves tracks going inland

gopimine vai s/he takes wild rice inland

gopinigaadan vti carry it on the shoulder inland, into the bush

Paired with: gopinigaazh vta

gopinigaazh vta carry h/, it (animate) on the shoulder inland, into the bush

Paired with: gopinigaadan vti

gopinige vai s/he carries something on h/ shoulder inland, into the bush

(applicative) gopinigaadan vti carry it on the shoulder inland, into the bush (applicative) gopinigaazh vta carry h/, it (animate) on the shoulder inland, into the bush
gopinizhikaw vta chase h/ into the woods

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.

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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.