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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

miskoskawe vai it (animate; fish) has red meat

miskoshkiinzhigwe vai s/he has a red eye or red eyes

miskotigwaane vai [BL]
  1. s/he has a red head
  2. s/he has red hair

miskozi vai s/he is red

Paired with: miskwaa vii

miskozigozi vai s/he (ice, something in a cake or bar) is red

Paired with: miskozigwaa vii

miskozigwaa vii it (something in a cake or bar) is red

Paired with: miskozigozi vai

miskwadaawangaa vii there is red sand

miskwadis vta color, dye h/ red

Paired with: miskwadisan vti

miskwadisan vti color, dye it red

Paired with: miskwadis vta

miskwadiso vai s/he is dyed red, is colored red

Paired with: miskwadite vii

miskwadite vii it is dyed red, is colored red

Paired with: miskwadiso vai

miskwadowe vai s/he has red or reddish fur

miskwakamigaa vii it is red earth; it is red ground

miskwakone vii it blazes up

miskwakwad vii there is a red sky, the sky is red

miskwanagekozi vai it (animate) has red bark

Paired with: miskwanagekwad vii

miskwanagekwad vii it has red bark

Paired with: miskwanagekozi vai

miskwanowe vai s/he has a red cheek or red cheeks

miskwanowechigan ni rouge

miskwanowechige vai s/he uses rouge

miskwanoweshin vai

miskwazhe vai s/he has measles

miskwazhigan ni a red sock, a red stocking

miskwazhigane vai s/he wears red socks, wears red stockings

miskwaa vii they (inanimate) are red

Paired with: miskozi vai

miskwaabigan na red clay

miskwaabigwan ni [BL] a red flower

See also: miskwaabigwani-nitii ni [BL]

miskwaabigwani-nitii ni [BL] Red Rose Tea

See also: miskwaabigwan ni [BL]

miskwaabik ni (a piece of) copper

miskwaabikad vii it (mineral) is red

Paired with: miskwaabikizi vai

miskwaabikide vii it is red-hot (as something mineral)

Paired with: miskwaabikizo vai

miskwaabikiz vta heat h/ red hot (as something mineral)

Paired with: miskwaabikizan vti

miskwaabikizan vti heat it red hot (as something mineral)

Paired with: miskwaabikiz vta

miskwaabikizi vai it (animate; mineral) is red

Paired with: miskwaabikad vii

miskwaabikizo vai s/he is red-hot (as something mineral)

Paired with: miskwaabikide vii

miskwaabikoons na a penny, a cent

miskwaabiigad vii it (string-like) is red

Paired with: miskwaabiigizi vai

miskwaabiigizi vai it (animate; string-like) is red

Paired with: miskwaabiigad vii

miskwaabiimag na [RL] a red willow (red osier dogwood); a piece of red willow (red osier dogwood) as used for a basket rim

[
red osier dogwood
; 
Cornus sericea L.
]

miskwaabiimagoons na a red willow (red osier dogwood); a piece of red willow (red osier dogwood) as used for a basket rim

[
red-osier dogwood
; 
Cornus sericea L.
]

miskwaabiimagoonsiwibag ni a red willow (red osier dogwood) leaf

miskwaabiimizh na a red willow (red osier dogwood)

[
red-osier dogwood
; 
Cornus sericea L.
]

miskwaadesi na a painted turtle

[
painted turtle, mud turtle
; 
Chrysemys picta
]

miskwaagamin vii it (a liquid) is red

miskwaakigane vai s/he has a red chest, is red-breasted

miskwaakozi vai s/he is red (as something stick- or wood-like)

Paired with: miskwaakwad vii

miskwaakwad vii it is red (as something stick- or wood-like)

Paired with: miskwaakozi vai

miskwaanakwad vii it is a red cloud; there are red clouds

miskwaande vii it is colored, dyed red

Paired with: miskwaanzo vai

miskwaanz vta color, dye h/ red

Paired with: miskwaanzan vti

miskwaanzan vti color, dye it red

Paired with: miskwaanz vta

(derived noun) miskwaanzigan ni a roach headdress
(verb of making) miskwaanziganike vai s/he makes a roach (headdress)
miskwaanzigan ni a roach headdress

miskwaanziganike vai s/he makes a roach (headdress)

miskwaanzo vai s/he is colored, dyed red

Paired with: miskwaande vii

miskwaasige vai it (animate; sun or moon) shines red

miskwaate vii it shines red, is a red light

miskwaawaak na a red cedar

[
eastern red cedar
; 
Juniperus virginiana
]

(verb of abundance) miskwaawaakokaa vii there are (many) red cedars
miskwaawaakokaa vii there are (many) red cedars

miskwegad vii it (sheet-like) is red

Paired with: miskwegizi vai

miskwegizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is red

Paired with: miskwegad vii

miskwi ni blood

miskwiiwi vai s/he bleeds, is bloody miskwiiwan vii it is bloody
miskwiingwe vai s/he has a red face

miskwiingwese vai s/he blushes

miskwiingwewaji vai s/he has a red face from the cold

miskwiingweyaaso vai

miskwiiwakamigaa vii it is bloody ground

miskwiiwan vii it is bloody

Paired with: miskwiiwi vai

miskwiiwanowe vai s/he has a bloody cheek

miskwiiwaagamin vii it (a liquid) is bloody

miskwiiwaagonagaa vii there is bloody snow

miskwiiwaakozi vai it (animate; stick-like) is bloody

Paired with: miskwiiwaakwad vii

miskwiiwaakwad vii it (stick-like) is bloody

miskwiiwegad vii it (sheet-like) is bloody

Paired with: miskwiiwegizi vai

miskwiiwegizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is bloody

Paired with: miskwiiwegad vii

miskwiiwi vai s/he bleeds, is bloody

Paired with: miskwiiwan vii

miskwiiwibagaa vii there are bloody leaves

miskwiiwidaamikane vai s/he has a bloody jaw or chin

miskwiiwidiye vai s/he has a bloody rear

miskwiiwidoondane vai s/he has a bloody heel or bloody heels

miskwiiwidoone vai s/he has bloody lips or mouth

miskwiiwigaade vai s/he has bloody leg

miskwiiwigidigwe vai s/he has a bloody knee

miskwiiwijaane vai s/he has a bloodied nose

miskwiiwindibe vai s/he has a bloody head

miskwiiwinike vai s/he has a bloody arm

miskwiiwininjii vai s/he has a bloody hand

miskwiiwisagaa vii it is a bloody floor

miskwiiwisin vii it is smeared with blood, gets bloody on contact

Paired with: miskwiiwishin vai

miskwiiwishin vai s/he is smeared with blood, gets bloody on contact

Paired with: miskwiiwisin vii

miskwiiwitawage vai s/he has a bloody ear

miskwiiwizide vai s/he has a bloody foot

miskwiiwiingwe vai s/he has a bloody face

mishawagaam adv loc out on the lake

mishawakamig adv loc in the open, out on the open ground, out in a field

mishawakamigaa vii it is open space

mishawashkode adv loc on the open plain, open prairie

mishawashkodeng adv loc on the open prairie

mishawashkosiwagaa vii

mishawaya'ii adv loc

mishawaagonag adv loc out on a snow field

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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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.