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maanishtaanishi-wiiyaas ni lamb [meat]

maanishtaanishiwayaan ni a sheepskin

maanishtaanishiiwinini na a sheep farmer; a shepherd

maanitam vai2 s/he doesn't hear right, mishears, misunderstands

maanitan vti it sounds bad to h/, doesn't sound right to h/

Paired with: maanitaw vta

maanitaw vta dislike what h/ says or sounds like; find what h/ says or sounds like disagreeable

Paired with: maanitan vti

maanitaagozi vai s/he sounds bad, doesn't sound right

Paired with: maanitaagwad vii

maanitaagwad vii it sounds bad, doesn't sound right

Paired with: maanitaagozi vai

maanose vai s/he walks with discomfort

maanowe vai s/he is hoarse, has a bad voice

maanoo adv man don't; don't care; let it be; never mind

maanwewebide vii it sounds bad running [motor]

maashkinoozhe na a muskellunge (fish)

[
Esox masquinongy
]

maawandoobiwag vai they sit together

maawandoogindan vti total it up (as an account)

(detransitive) maawandoogindaaso vai s/he totals up (as an account)
maawandoogindaaso vai s/he totals up (as an account)

maawandoogwaadan vti sew it together (e.g., pieces for a quilt)

Paired with: maawandoogwaazh vta

maawandoogwaaso vai s/he sews things together, does patchwork (as in making a quilt)

(derived noun) maawandoogwaason ni a quilt
(verb of making) maawandoogwaasonike vai s/he makes a quilt
(derived noun) maawandoogwaasonikaan ni a quilt (being made) (verb of use) maawandoogwaasonikaagen vai + o use (it) for quilting
maawandoogwaason ni a quilt

maawandoogwaasonikaagen vai + o use (it) for quilting

maawandoogwaasonikaan ni a quilt (being made)

maawandoogwaasonike vai s/he makes a quilt

maawandoogwaazh vta sew h/ together

Paired with: maawandoogwaadan vti

maawandoonan vti bring them (inanimate) together

maawandoosidoon vti2 put them (inanimate) together, gather and put them (inanimate) together

Paired with: maawandooshim vta

maawandooshim vta put them (animate) together, gather and put them (animate) together

Paired with: maawandoosidoon vti2

maawandooweba'an vti gather it or them (inanimate) together (using something forcibly): beat it together, rake them together

maawanji' vta collect h/

Paired with: maawanjitoon vti2

(reciprocal) maawanji'idiwag vai they come together, meet with each other, have a meeting (detransitive) maawanji'iwe vai s/he gets people together
maawanji'idiwag vai they come together, meet with each other, have a meeting

maawanji'iwe vai s/he gets people together

maawanjitoon vti2 gather, collect it

Paired with: maawanji' vta

maawiin adv man [BL] maybe; no doubt, without a doubt; possibly

See also: gaa maawiin adv man [BL]

maazhaa adv man maybe; I think that..., perhaps, maybe

maazhendam vai2 s/he feels poorly

maazhendaagwad vii it is a sad situation, is a bad situation

maazhi- pv lex bad; ill-formed

maazhi-ayaa vai s/he is bad-off; s/he is in poor health, feels sicks, is ill

maazhi-bimaadizi vai s/he behaves badly; s/he leads a bad life

maazhi-giizhigad vii it is a bad day

maazhi-izhiwebizi vai s/he behaves badly

maazhibide vii it runs, operates poorly (as a machine)

Paired with: maazhibizo vai

maazhibizo vai s/he runs poorly, operates poorly (as a machine)

Paired with: maazhibide vii

maazhibii'an vti write it badly

(detransitive) maazhibii'ige vai s/he writes badly (verb of undergoing) maazhibii'igaade vii it is written badly (by someone)
maazhibii'igaade vii it is written badly (by someone)

maazhibii'ige vai s/he writes badly

maazhichige vai s/he does something wrong, does something bad

maazhide'e vai s/he has heartburn

maazhigaabawi vai s/he is not in good standing; s/he stands in a bad position

maazhigiizhwe vai s/he has abnormal speech; s/he has difficulty speaking

maazhigondaagan vai [ML] s/he has a poor voice

See also: maazhigondaagane vai [N]

maazhigondaagane vai [N] s/he has a poor voice

See also: maazhigondaagan vai [ML]

maazhigwaadan vti sew it poorly

Paired with: maazhigwaazh vta

maazhigwaade vii it is poorly sewn, is not sewn right

Paired with: maazhigwaazo vai

maazhigwaaso vai s/he sews poorly

maazhigwaazh vta sew h/ poorly

Paired with: maazhigwaadan vti

maazhigwaazo vai it (animate) is poorly sewn

Paired with: maazhigwaade vii

maazhi' vta overpower h/

maazhijiwan vii it flows poorly

maazhimaagodoondane vai h/ heel stinks or heels stink

maazhimaagozi vai s/he smells bad

Paired with: maazhimaagwad vii

maazhimaagozide vai s/he has smelly feet, has stinky feet

maazhimaagwad vii it smells bad

Paired with: maazhimaagozi vai

maazhimaagwanaamo vai s/he has bad breath

maazhimaagwaabide vai s/he has smelly rotten teeth

maazhimaagwaagamin vii it (a liquid) stinks

maazhimaam vta find the smell of h/ bad

Paired with: maazhimaandan vti

maazhimaandan vti find it smells bad

Paired with: maazhimaam vta

maazhimaas vta spread a stink by cooking or burning h/

Paired with: maazhimaasan vti

maazhimaasan vti spread a stink by cooking or burning it

Paired with: maazhimaas vta

maazhimaasige vai s/he spreads a stink by cooking or burning something

maazhimaaso vai s/he has a bad aroma, smells bad burning or cooking

Paired with: maazhimaate vii

maazhimaaswi vta [NI]

► maazhimaas vta

maazhimaate vii it has a bad aroma, smells bad burning or cooking

Paired with: maazhimaaso vai

maazhingwaam vai s/he sleeps uncomfortably

maazhinikaade vii it has an ugly name

Paired with: maazhinikaazo vai

maazhinikaazo vai s/he has an ugly name

Paired with: maazhinikaade vii

maazhip vta find h/ tastes bad, dislike the taste of h/

Paired with: maazhipidan vti

maazhipidan vti find it tastes bad, dislike the taste of it

maazhipogozi vai s/he tastes bad

Paired with: maazhipogwad vii

maazhipogwad vii it tastes bad

Paired with: maazhipogozi vai

maazhise vai s/he has things go wrong, has bad luck

maazhisin vii it gets spoiled, turns bad

Paired with: maazhishin vai

maazhishin vai s/he lies uncomfortably

Paired with: maazhisin vii

maazhizide vai s/he has a deformed foot or deformed feet

mechiboode vii it wears down, is worn (from abrasion)

Paired with: mechiboozo vai

mechiboozo vai s/he wears down, is worn (from abrasion)

Paired with: mechiboode vii

mechigwebizo vai s/he gets sore from being rubbed by something tied or worn at the neck

megade vai s/he burps

(verb of addiction) megadeshki vai s/he always is burping (causative) megade' vta burp h/ megadeshkaw vta (inverse only) something makes h/ burp
megade' vta burp h/

megadeshkaw vta (inverse only) something makes h/ burp

megadeshki vai s/he always is burping

megwayaak adv loc in the woods

megwaa adv tmp while; during; right now

megwaa- pv lex while; during; right now

megwaagonag adv loc right in the snow

megwaashkaw vta meet, encounter, run across or into h/ accidentally

megwe- pv lex among; in the midst of

megwe-aya'ii adv loc in among it

megwe-dibik adv tmp during the night, in the middle of the night

megwejiishkiwag adv loc in the mud

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.